This subtle test reveals penelope s clever sidethe side we have seen in her ploy to use a nevertobefinished burial shroud to put off remarriage for four years. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. It is in penelopes character to test the man one more time to be certain. For her final test, she requested the movement of their marriage bed, which only odysseus knows cannot be moved.
Penelopes test of odysseus in book 23 of the odyssey. Only odysseus, penelope, and the maid know that the bed cannot be moved because odysseus. Book 1 book 2 book 3 book 4 book 5 book 6 book 7 book 8 book 9 book 10 book 11 book 12 book book 14 book 15 book 16 book 17 book 18 book 19 book 20 book 21 book 22 book 23 book 24 themes all themes fate, the gods, and free will piety, customs, and justice cunning, disguise, and selfrestraint memory and grief glory and honor. By the time homers audience encounters odyssey 23, odysseus has revealed his identity to his son, his servants, and the suitors, the latter of whom he has slaughtered while his wife penelope was. Penelopes test of odysseus in book 23 of the odyssey answers. Eurycleia wakes up penelope to tell her odysseus has returned and killed the. Penelope was talking to odysseus and told her maid to moveodysseus bed so this beggar odysseus could stay the night. Books 23 24 the scene in which penelope tests her husband s knowledge of the bed neatly brings together several ideas that the epic has touched on before. To assure herself of odysseus identity, penelope tests him. Penelope tells one of the maids to move the bed from the couples bedroom for the stranger to sleep in. Penelope tested odysseus three times in the odyssey. In her second test, penelope retrieved odysseus bow, stating she will marry the man who strings it and makes a perfect shot.
Homer, odyssey book 23 theoi classical texts library. He explains that he built their bedroom around an ancient. This test not only admits odysseus to penelopes arms but also sheds some light on why their love for each other is so natural in the first place. With odysseus disguised as a beggar, she asked him about odysseus travels, clothing and personality.
Penelope orders their bed removed from their chamber. Penelope was talking to odysseus and told her maid to move odysseus bed so this beggar odysseus could stay the night. Book 23 of the odyssey begins after odysseus has cleaned the palace of the foulness of battle and fumigated it. To test the stranger, penelope tells eurycleia to bring him the bridal bed, but odysseus cries out angrily that the bed cannot be moved because he built it around.