| The ways in which poets, dramatists, novelists, musical composers, and visual artists have responded to Homer's Penelope from the Middle Ages to the present time vary widely and are predicated upon the way in which they view her conduct in the story. The artists of the Middle Ages embraced Penelope as a paragon of virtue, the model for "the good wife." It is from this period that Penelope acquires the epithet for which she is still well-known, "chaste Penelope." During the Renaissance, Penelope retains her virtuous qualities but takes on new traits associated with enlightenment and knowledge. Here Penelope emerges as a model for the upper class Renaissance woman who, for the most part, is better educated and who exercises more personal freedom than her Medieval counterpart. The Baroque and Enlightenment Periods introduce a Penelope endowed with heroic qualities associated with perseverance and courage. However, for her intellectual, emotional, and spiritual strength she is both praised and vilified. The Romantic and Victorian artists also present Penelope as the model of feminine virtue, but because their vision of womanhood precludes intellectual strength, they strip her of her cunning intelligence. With a few exceptions, she is viewed simply as the "forlorn wife" of Odysseus. Although in the modern age Penelope remains the symbol of wifehood, she also comes to represent independence, genius, and heroism. It is during this time that the issue of Penelope's adulterous nature is reintroduced.;As we see from the hundreds of portraits of Penelope, she is treated primarily as a type: the sweet and faithful wife, the wanton harlot, the wise woman, the unsuspecting lady, the jealous harpy, the good-natured matron, the damsel-in-distress, and the courageous hero. In truth, Homer's Penelope represents the quintessential woman, everywoman and everyman--for contained in her are all of the components of womanhood, as well as humanity. |
