Penelope's threads

  
In unravelling the history of Penelope's representation during the medieval and early modern periods many threads are found, particularly in Latin texts. Homer is a significant source, but subsequent authors use her for their own purposes. By the time of the Roman Republic, Penelope's chastity is proverbial. Her name is called upon to exemplify chastity, but frequently without any discussion of her motivations. She is a passive object in the hands of her authors, fulfilling a role conveniently provided by the ending of the original story, the Odyssey. Adjectives and past participles suffice to describe her. This is one thread in Penelope's tale, and it continues well into the medieval and early modern periods. As literary exemplum, she moves through the ages, clarifying what it means to be chaste, dignified and a faithful wife. At some stage, the status of exemplum changes from descriptive to prescriptive. Does a more didactic use of a chaste woman as an example to others give insight into the motivations for chastity? Some of the ideas that can be included in this investigation are wisdom, weaving, libido and love, all factors that at some stage are incorporated into some authors' views of chastity in relation to Penelope. Other chaste figures mentioned in similar contexts are Lucretia and Andromache.

Another thread that might be seen as attributable to Homer and the Greek tradition is the continual writing of Trojan history in Latin in the vernacular in medieval times. As a main figure in the Odyssey, and the wife of one of the pivotal protagonists Penelope should and does figure in each of these. Her role and the status of her chastity will be analysed and discussed.

Homer's contribution can also be seen in the more encyclopaedic representations of Penelope in books focusing on Greek and Roman mythology.

At the beginning of the Roman Empire, a new author picked up Penelope's thread and made her a subject within her own work. Ovid not only mentioned Penelope in most of his works, he added a depth to her persona, recreating a woman more consistent with Homer's model. He is described as the poet who brought romance to this archetypal couple, although he does it without ever mentioning love in relation to them. While exiled, he writes letters to his wife, comparing her to Penelope, casting himself as either Homer (as poet) or Ulysses (as distant husband). Before this he had created the Heroides, a series of poetic letters supposedly written by women to their absent men. Penelope is the first among these illustrious women, writing and weaving while her husband is away. In reading what she might have written, we are privy to her thoughts. We gain a glimpse of what she is thinking at one moment within those twenty years without her husband. It is a psychological representation of Penelope. In contrast to Penelope as exemplum, it presents future readers insight into the mind of the "chaste woman". Other poets pick up the model and write about Penelope in depth, and teachers write commentaries on Ovid's work, highlighting chastity and Penelope due to her position as first 'heroine'. As such, the threads started by Ovid provide potential for analysing motivations in her actions.