Penelope And Sarah

BEHIND EVERY GOOD MAN IS A GREAT WOMAN Most ancient texts were written by men. It is important to remember this. The writers made sure that men were always the heroes, the powerful ones-- the important ones. Women always seem to lay in the background. However, we must not blame this solely on the writers. Historically, women have not been treated as equals. One cannot help but observe that in the specific area of family life a widespread social and cultural tradition has considered women's role to be exclusively that of wife and mother. As a wife, a woman was expected to obey and serve her husband. Men saw women as, what they believed to be, the fulfillment of God’s intention: It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner (Genesis 2.18). Despite these biases, women play a central and crucial role in many historical texts. Even if the men are always the heroes, behind every good man is a great woman. Let’s explore these two great women: Penelope from Homer’s Odyssey, and Sarah from Genesis. They are both shadowed by the greatness of their husbands. However, if we read carefully, we can make them come out of their hiding place and let their true beauty shine! Sarah is the faithful and loving wife of Abraham. God favors Abraham and makes great plans for him.

 God promises Abraham that he will become “a numerous people” (Genesis 17). However, becoming “a numerous people” is impossible without the aid of women. Thus, Sarah plays an important role in God’s historical purpose. Sarah plays an important role in Abraham’s life too. She is a devoted wife that seems willing to do anything for her husband. When they are about to enter Egypt (Genesis 12.10) Abraham says to Sarah, “ I know well that you are a woman beautiful in appearance; and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; then they will kill me..”. Abraham, of course, wants to save his life. He, therefore, tells Sarah to say she is his sister. Abraham thinks only of himself. The Egyptians shower Abraham with gifts. His content with such material possessions take precedence over the well-being of his wife. However, Sarah doesn’t complain. She complies with her husband’s wishes. By doing this, Sarah not only brings wealth to her husband, she also saves his life. Sarah’s dedication doesn’t stop there. Her devotion to her husband is also seen in Genesis 16. Here, Sarah, after being barren for some time, tells Abraham to, “go in to my slave-girl; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.”. Sarah is not pleased with her decision. She performed this sacrifice for her husband-- again. We can see her frustration and disappointment when she tells Abraham, “May the wrong done to me be on you!” Looking at this statement, it seems that Sarah was forced to “give” her slave-girl to Abraham.

 However, it was she that made this suggestion. Was she forced by Abraham, and the author just failed to mention this? Maybe she felt forced by society. It is, after all, a woman’s “role” to please her husband. Without Sarah’s faithful actions there would be no Abraham. Without Abraham there would be no “numerous people”. Without “a numerous people” millions of nations would not exist. Sarah seems pretty important now, doesn’t she? Another important woman in literature is Penelope from Homer’s Odyssey. She, like Sarah, is extremely faithful. Her husband, Odysseus, sailed with his army in an expedition twenty years ago and hasn’t returned since. In his absence, the nobleman of Ithaca and the surrounding states have converged upon his palace, hoping to win the hand of Penelope. She, ever faithful to her husband’s memory, will not remarry. She goes to great lengths to keep from having to chose one of the suitors as a husband: “She set up a great loom in her palace, and set to weaving a web of threads long and fine. Then she said to us [the suitors]: ‘Young men, ...wait... until I finish this web, so that my weaving will not be useless and wasted’ (II, line 94)”. Penelope never intended to finish the web, for she would unravel it at night. Penelope’s faithfulness would later prove of great help to Odysseus. Her faithfulness suggests that Odysseus is a great man. Why else would she have refused to remarry? Her emotions develop and support Odysseus character. Odysseus is constantly on her mind. She weeps for him and, despite his long absence, keeps hoping for his return. Her immense love and dedication to her husband can be seen in this passage ( XVIII, line 200): “How I wish chaste Artemis would give me a death so soft, and now, so I would not go on in my heart grieving all my life, and longing for love of a husband excellent in every virtue, since he stood out among the Achaians.” These are powerful words. They all help form Odysseus’ identity. Penelope’s words are not the only thing that aid in preserving Odysseus’ name.

Her actions preserve Odysseus identity as king and father. By not marrying a suitor, Penelope is preventing her husband’s throne from being taken away. She is, in a sense, guarding Odysseus power until his return. Penelope, however, is usually not given due credit. It is Odysseus that is seen as the hero. He returns home to kill the suitors, and then resumes his reign. This is seen as a great and heroic accomplishment. However, it is important to remember why he is able to resume his reign: because his throne was guarded by the faithful Penelope. Penelope and Sarah are not just powerful forces behind their husbands, they also play an important role in the lives of their sons. Although Sarah’s relationship with her son is not fully developed in Genesis, the reader can still see the importance of Sarah in her son Isaac’s life. Sarah casts out the slave woman’s, and Abraham’s, son. She does this because she feels that his presence threatens her son. She wants to secure her son’s future, therefore, she must make sure that the slave woman’s son will not inherit along with Isaac. Even God Himself supports Sarah’s decision. He says to Abraham, “whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you.” Unlike Sarah’s case, it is hard to see how Penelope is aiding her son. She is allowing the suitors to remain in her house. Telemachus, outnumbered and inexperience, is unable to get rid of them. He feels that it is his duty to protect the house and kill the suitors. However, he is unsuccessful and does not count with the aid of his mother.

 Despite all this, is Penelope really harming her son? Penelope’s son, Telemachus is too young to take over the throne. By not marrying one of the suitors Penelope is making it easier for Telemachus to one day take over the throne. If she married, the suitor would be king. If Penelope and the suitor had a child, a potential conflict could arise. The suitor would probably want to make his own son his heir. Depending on how much power the king has over the queen, Telemachus may have been left with nothing. Is Penelope really thinking this far ahead? It is hard to say if these are really Penelope’s intentions. However, we can probably assume that Penelope wants what’s best for Telemachus. She obviously cares for him as is apparent in this scene where Penelope says crying, “You have come, Telemachus, sweet light, and I thought I would never see you again..”. Penelope and Sarah are just two examples of women that played an important role in a story. Women are seldom depicted as the heroines. Their importance is always portrayed through a male. We must therefore read closely, and look beyond the achievements of the heroes in order to discover our heroines. Throughout history women have been limited by society. They have been given the roles of mothers and wives. They have been restricted to the home and kept from public functions. Despite these limitations, women have played an important role in shaping history. They have taken their restrictions and acted through them in order for their voices to be heard. We don’t often realize it’s their voices, but we do hear them. It’s just that we hear them through the husbands, brothers, sons-- the “heroes”.