Week 3 Story
Odysseus has been gone for so long now I feel like I hardly even think about him. I mean how long am I supposed to mourn his loss? To be honest, it used to be pretty hard for me. When our son, Telemachus used to ask questions about his father, I couldn't even begin to answer. My husband, whom I love, fought in the war for 10 years! 10 years! Do you know how much development can happen in a child's life in 10 years? I had to teach my son all the things his father should. Odysseus had an excellent relationship with his parents, so I know being away is killing him too.
I have talked to someone about all of this, I have. But the Trojan War is over. When is he going to get home? How many times can I go see my therapist about this man that is in no rush to get home? He's probably dead. I've accepted that. I can't keep holding on for everyone else. I was there when his mother died. I took care of her as my own. But it's time for me to move on. There are plenty of men in this town that are courting me right now. In respect to Odysseus, his mother and Telemachus, I have held off. But Telemachus is over 20 years old by now. He's on his way to getting married himelf. He doesn't need me to hold on for him.
That's it, I'm going to start dating. I will let the men court me.
Penelope, Odysseus' Wife.
Authors note:
I decided to write a branch of The Odyssey by Homer from the wife's point of view. When reading the Odyssey this week, I realized how awful it must have been for his wife to be away from him for so long. The Odyssey is about a man named Odysseus and his army of men that, after the Trojan War, are coming back home to Ithaca. They have to face the wrath of the gods, however, that stalls their journey for 10 years.
The Odyssey by Homer
I have talked to someone about all of this, I have. But the Trojan War is over. When is he going to get home? How many times can I go see my therapist about this man that is in no rush to get home? He's probably dead. I've accepted that. I can't keep holding on for everyone else. I was there when his mother died. I took care of her as my own. But it's time for me to move on. There are plenty of men in this town that are courting me right now. In respect to Odysseus, his mother and Telemachus, I have held off. But Telemachus is over 20 years old by now. He's on his way to getting married himelf. He doesn't need me to hold on for him.
That's it, I'm going to start dating. I will let the men court me.
Penelope, Odysseus' Wife.
Authors note:
I decided to write a branch of The Odyssey by Homer from the wife's point of view. When reading the Odyssey this week, I realized how awful it must have been for his wife to be away from him for so long. The Odyssey is about a man named Odysseus and his army of men that, after the Trojan War, are coming back home to Ithaca. They have to face the wrath of the gods, however, that stalls their journey for 10 years.
The Odyssey by Homer
Hi Morgan!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Cat. This is my first time reading your blog, and I really enjoyed it.
To me this read like some of my own frantic journal entries which I think is a really fresh take on the story of Odysseus because, so little is said on the struggles of his wife. If I were going to offer one word of advice, I think it would be to really delve a little more into how she is feeling. It sounds like this is a really big decision in her life that she has been conflicted about for a while so really develop her thought process, walk the reader through her emotions.
-Cat
Hi Morgan!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your story from the point of view from Odysseus' wife, Penelope. When you were describing Penelope's internal thoughts with being away from her husband, I thought you were very realistic with how someone would go through deciding to get out and date again. I had no trouble imagining the character as I read the story. You did a very good job of making her personality come through your writing! Family is a big factor in making that big decision, especially if you took care of your significant other's mom or dad, or if you have a child together! I am curious to know who she allowed to take her on a date. What if you described her idea of a perfect suitor? It would also be very interesting to continue the story to find out how Odysseus reacted when he returned home or found out about the dates. What sort of things did the wife have to help the son learn that she believed the father should have?
Hi Morgan! The story is great. I liked how you wrote the story from the point of view of Odysseus wife. I read the Odyssey myself and would have not thought to write a story from the point of view of his wife. I also liked how you acknowledged the part from the origin story on how Odysseus had been gone so long and how she was there for when his wife died. the whole idea of her thinking he is dead and is moving on is also a good twist. if you use this story in the future you might continue to on going over how and who she would date. Or for an even bigger twist make it to where she is about to wed another man and Odysseus shows up to stop it. But as i said the story was food but i would be even better if you were to add on to it in the future.
ReplyDeleteHi Morgan! I like that you told the story of Odysseus from a new perspective. So often, tales about him are told right in the middle of the action, so it was interesting to read a story from an outside point of view. When hero tales are told, it is easy to think about the great things the hero is doing, but people so often forget about everything that is going on outside, like family left back home.
ReplyDeleteHey Morgan! This was a very interesting read! I really like stories that tell what characters other than the main hero or heroine are thinking. One of my favorite examples of this is Maleficent! I really enjoy gaining new perspectives on things that everyone has a particular view of. I think that without perspectives, we can get lost in a single narrative and be oblivious to other possible story lines. So I am glad that you chose to wright this. I have read sections of the odyssey before and I just can't fathom why they wouldn't include such a strong part of the story. Odysseus' wife obviously faced much turmoil in making her decision and I feel that it would have made a very nice narrative in the epic. Nonetheless, you did it! And you managed to keep it relevant and interesting without any obvious hiccups. So I applaud your story and your writing!
ReplyDeleteHello Morgan! I really enjoyed your story about Odysseus’s wife’s point of view after Odysseus has been gone for so long because of the war. It Is so cool to think about what other characters may be going through that are not particular a big part of the story such as the wife and son which you talked about. There are so many different stories that could be told just through other characters within one story. I really like the ideas you brought up of having the wife in conflict with the decision if she should see other people or not because it really is a solid point with Odysseus being gone so long. I wonder what would happen if Odysseus came back home to see his family but the wife was out on a date and he figured out. It would be a very interesting story to write about that’s for sure. Overall I loved the story, keep it up!
ReplyDeleteHi, Morgan! First off, I really enjoyed reading your story! I think that you did a great job in turning a classic tale and making it into something of your own! I have never really put much thought into what some of the secondary characters of a story might be going through and thinking, so putting that spin on this story made it really fun and interesting for me to read. There are hundreds of different things that a secondary character could be thinking and feeling, so the ideas for writing a story about it are pretty much endless. I do wonder what would happen if Odysseus's wife did decide to go see other people and how Odysseus himself would handle it. Overall, I really enjoyed reading your story and I hope to read more from you as the semester goes on!
ReplyDelete