Penelope, the Myth of the Woman Who Waits Forever

The myth of Penelope is part of the epic poem The Odyssey, written by Homer. The function of an epic poem is, among others, to build role models for people to imitate. Thus, the characters in this narrative are archetypal. In other words, they synthesize a series of values and skills that make them the ideal models to follow for living within a society. As is often the case with these mythical stories, the most interesting messages are those that come between the lines. The story of Penelope is quite beautiful but also revealing if you care to scrutinize what…