If you were Penelope, wouldn't you be a wee bit skeptical of his explanation for his long absence? "Oh, so you were forced to stay and make love with Circe and Calypso? Poor you."
No kidding, Caelus! I think it'd be very interesting to read a sequel to the Odyssey that delves into readjusting being at home and his relationship with Penelope after a 20 year absence.
In Ovid's book of love letters(I believe), Ars Amatoria, Penelope writes a very sweet letter to her husband while he is away. She wonders how he could have possibly been gone so long and, when the others return from Troy, why he chooses to stay away. It's a very cute poem
Yes, I believe Penelope was very sad, and definitely very devoted to her husband, Odysseus. I always found Odysseus himself to be kind of a dink. He`s lucky Penelope didn`t move on, even after twenty years away. There were a great many suitors lined up to take her hand, which, if I were her, would have moved on two years after everyone else was back from the war (and Odysseus wasn`t).
From what I remember though, most of those suitors were just after her for her money and beauty...and wine...though I guess, as a woman in that period, it wouldn't have been anything unordinary.
In James Joyce's magnum opus, Ulysses, Molly (Penelope) was unfaithful to Bloom (Odysseus). However, I like to think that Penelope was truly devoted to her husband. My favorite local bar was in Penelope's Restaurant. Before it closed, I used to stop by there for a drink almost every day on the way home from work.
