7. Margaret Atwood (2005), The Penelopiad

[strange_complex]

I read this book because a) it is about me my mythological namesake, b) my Mum bought it for me two Christmases ago, knowing that it would appeal to me for that reason, and c) I've always vaguely thought I ought to read something by Margaret Atwood.

It's basically Penelope's side of the story, as the title suggests. She is the narrator, speaking from the Underworld, and she tells us how she felt, what she knew when and why she did what she did from her childhood up to the return of Odysseus. There's a special emphasis on the twelve household maids which Telemachus hangs on Odysseus's orders at the end of Book 22 of the Iliad. In Homer, they've been rude and insolent to Eurycleia (Odysseus' childhood nurse) and Penelope, and have slept with several of the suitors. In The Penelopiad, they were Penelope's secret eyes and ears about the house, and most of them had been raped. So Atwood sets out to tell their side of the story, too - and in particular breaks up Penelope's narrative with a series of Greek-style dramatic Choruses, delivered by the maids in formats ranging from the ballad and the sea shanty to the idyll and the court-room trial.

Thing is, that's about it. That's the plot and structure of the book, it's all done perfectly plausibly and readably, and I really don't have anything much else to say about it. There wasn't really anything in it which surprised me, wowed me or challenged me. Well, there was one of the Maids' Choruses, done in the style of an anthropology lecture, where I had to grit my teeth a bit as I was presented with a reading of Odysseus' return as the over-throw of a matriarchal society led by Penelope - an interpretation which Atwood credits in her closing note to Robert Graves' famously *koff* 'creative' The Greek Myths. But apart from that, it was fine. Just fine. Did exactly what it said on the tin.

I suppose I was hoping for something a bit more epic and creative. Maybe the problem is that Penelope - much as I would wish otherwise - is not really the most exciting of characters. Atwood chooses to keep her basically in line with Homer's characterisation, apart from having hidden feelings and motives which Homer and his male characters overlook. So alternate possibilities like her becoming the mother of Pan are out of the window, and you're left with a pretty passive heroine, really - even if you do grant her intelligence that Homer doesn't.

Oh well - anyway, I've read it now. Whether I'll read more Atwood is likely to depend on whether anyone particularly persuasive attempts to talk me into it or not.

Comments

[the-lady-lily.livejournal.com]

Whether I'll read more Atwood is likely to depend on whether anyone particularly persuasive attempts to talk me into it or not.

Oh, heavens. Of all the Atwood I've read, The Penelopiad is undoubtedly the weakest. Go and find yourself a copy of The Handmaid's Tale, pronto. Or else I might cry.

[gylfinir.livejournal.com]

I was about to recommend The Handmaid's Tale myself; I think that's my favourite Atwood.

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

Oh, fair enough. As I say, it's the only Atwood I've read - and if you've read enough to know that this isn't representative, I'm ready to listen. I do actually have a copy of The Blind Assassin on my book-shelf - is that one any good?

[the-lady-lily.livejournal.com]

Yes, I quite enjoyed it, although I read it when I was first in the US and wanted something comforting. And thus didn't absorb it as well as I might have, and should revisit it. But I found it page-turning, if I recall correctly, and a well-crafted world to hide in.

Incidentally, I share your cringe at the social-science-anthropology version of the Maids' Chorus ;)

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

the social-science-anthropology version of the Maids' Chorus

Yes, that was a bit of a WTF moment! I just pray she meant it in an ironic, deconstructive manner.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Of course she did! It was a piss-take of the highest order, and I confess to giggling my way through it :)

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

I don't know - it felt to me more like playing around with a theme she knew wasn't really credible, but rather wanted to be. In the note at the end, she comments that she got the idea from Graves, but that he didn't note the significance of number twelve in the story (twelve maids, twelve axe-heads), as though that is extra 'evidence' in support of the reading.

[huskyteer.livejournal.com]

That sounds great - I also keep meaning to read some Atwood.

I discovered today to my great delight that gerbils were named after a character in the Iliad (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meriones).

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

Well, except that it wasn't great - it was just fine. I mean, I wouldn't actively counsel against reading it - but I could hardly recommend it in glowing terms! I'd listen to the two ladies above if I were you, who sound like they know their Atwood better than me.

I was a bit confused about your gerbils for a minute there, as I didn't remember any character called Pinchippus... but I see what you mean now I've followed the link!

[huskyteer.livejournal.com]

Oh man, there ought to be a Pinchippus. His adjective could be 'sharp-clawed'.

[gillywoo.livejournal.com]

I'd be quite interested in reading that actually. Margaret Atwood is very much hit or miss, she's written some great books (The Robber Bride, the handmaids tale and cats eye) and some shite - "Surfacing". I don't rate her as much as I do Tanith Lee or Weldon. But I really would recommend "the handmaids tale" as a good book.

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

Well, that's three for The Handmaid's Tale now, so it must have something going for it.

You're very welcome to borrow The Penelopiad - I'll put it together with the book and DVD I borrowed from you, and try to remember to give them all to you some time!

[gillywoo.livejournal.com]

excellent : )

I'll lend you "the handmaids tale" if you like it I think I've got "cats eye" and "the robber bride" somewhere as well. But I;ll just lend you "handmaids tale" first

[libellum.livejournal.com]

My two favourite Atwoods have always been Cat's Eye and The Blind Assassin. Oryx and Crake was entertaining too, if very different - and a little self-indulgently polemical. Her earlier work is more subtly personal-political; her recent novels all seem to make political points with a sledgehammer, to the detriment of the novel as a whole.

Her specialty is heart-aching female biographies, commenting on relationships and identity and socio-cultural expectations, this vast, beautifully woven tapestry all about joy and sorrow and what it is to be human. When she tries to be gimmicky (as with the Penelopiad, Oryx and Crake, and her shorter novels like Life Before Man and Surfacing, she ends up letting the punch of the gimmick destroy all the subtlety of her observations and prose, and you're left feeling profoundly unsatisfied. But the longer novels - which have all the beauty, power and melancholy of those dreams you used to have where you'd live an entire lifetime in one night - are absolutely unmissable.

[gillywoo.livejournal.com]

I've read "life before man" and wasn't overly keen on that either.

"Cats eye" is good, though I must confess I've not read "The Blind Assassin" or "Oryx and Crake". Mind you, the first book I read of hers was "Surfacing" for English A level, so it's a wonder I bothered to seek out any of her others : )

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I'd really like that. Given that no less than six people have now commented on this thread to recommend it, I reckon it'd be rude not to read it!

[gillywoo.livejournal.com]

I also have loads of marge piercy . In fact you must come along one of our girls nights when we actually get around to organising a proper one around books!

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

In a sort of book-club stylee, then? Yes, that would be fun.

[gillywoo.livejournal.com]

Excellent. We've been meaning to actually have girls book night for ages, we always end up recommending each other books but haven't actually done a proper book night. We tried to do one last month but ended up gossiping and consuming copious amounts of wine : )

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

Kewl! Well let me know what book you decide to read for it, and I'll look forward to joining in.

[gillywoo.livejournal.com]

Will do!

It might just be a case of recommending books we like, rather than an actual read and discuss, it'll depend on how busy everyone is but I'll certainly let you know.

[kissmeforlonger.livejournal.com]

Oh yes - have you read Woman on the edge of time? That's fab.

[gillywoo.livejournal.com]

Indeed I have! It's excellent - my favourite of hers is probably "body of Glass" though, it was the first one I ever read of hers and is just amazing.

In fact, I just had to buy some more marge piecy books, because I've run out of ones to read!

yes

[newwaytowrite.livejournal.com]

and if you are into a round of themed works whilst reading it I recommend
in this order

The Communist Manifesto
Herland
The Dispossessed
Woman on the Edge of Time
The Wanderground
The Handmaid's Tale

Re: yes

[gillywoo.livejournal.com]

Seconded "Woman on the edge of time" - it's one of the best books ever. I also love "body of Glass", which is truly amazing. In fact. I <3 Marge Piercy and everything of hers I've read!

[white_hart]

My seminar tutor for Epic Tradition in my first year at Warwick (don't know if he was still at Warwick in your time; he is utterly ungoogleable due to having the same name as one of the actors who played Doctor Who!) was also very keen on that interpretation of the Odyssey. (His other pet theory was that the Catalogue of Ships in Book 2 of the Iliad was in fact an ancient Greek version of the shipping forecast, which didn't really make it any less dull).

I haven't read The Penelopiad yet (I seem to have got a long way behind with Atwood over the last few years), but would definitely second (or third, fourth or fifth) the recommendation of The Handmaid's Tale.

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

You mean the 'overthrow of a matriarchal society' theory? In all seriousness? I like the Greek shipping forecast one, though.

Meanwhile, it looks like I am being lent The Handmaid's Tale, so maybe my opinion of Atwood will be rescued from this blow after all.

[white_hart]

Not necessarily the overthrow of the matriarchal society, but he argued quite convincingly that there were a number of pointers in the text that suggested that the story in its earliest form had been the product of a matriarchal society, although the Homeric retelling was set in the context of the later patriarchy. In particular he cited the fact that attempts to gain power in Ithaca centred on marriage to Penelope rather than bumping off Telemachus, and also questioned why Odysseus's father is still alive if Odysseus's kingship was patrilineal. I think he also mentioned the dominant influence of Nausicaa and her mother as indicative of the power of women in the Odyssey, which is particularly noticeable compared to the Iliad where women are solely acted upon by men.

The Handmaid's Tale is extremely good. It is also, if anything, even more plausible now than it was when it was written. I would also second the recommendation for Marge Piercy's Woman on the Edge of Time, which I would offer to lend to you if I wasn't currently without a copy, having lent the second one I bought to someone ages ago...

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

marriage to Penelope rather than bumping off Telemachus

Hmm, that's pretty normal in a society where marriages are used as a way of allying two powerful families, though. It's also how Oedipus gains power in Thebes, and the reason why imperial women were so important in Rome. Marrying a member of the established ruling family gives you legitimacy, and makes it look as though you have been accepted into the circles of power. Bumping off the legitimate heir merely makes you look like a war-lord, and leaves you wide open to challenge from others.

why Odysseus's father is still alive

Yes, that's an interesting aspect of the story, and certainly reflects a rather different idea of dynastic succession from the one we understand today. However, it certainly isn't proof of matrilineal succession, because Odysseus' mother, Anticleia, is also still alive when he sets out for Troy, yet he is already recognised as king. See the fifth paragraph down in this translation of book 11 (http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/odyssey.11.xi.html).

As for figures such as Nausicaa - yes, she's one of many examples which show that the role of women is being explored and examined in the Odyssey. But many of Euripides' and Aristophanes' plays do the very same thing in late fifth century Athens. It doesn't mean any of these people are transmitting remnants of a real matriarchal society - only that the notion that women might break out of their established social roles was a very real fear in this context.

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

(BTW, I've just realised that the above comment might come across as a bit aggressive. I'm not criticising you here - just the matriarchy theory, which I'm afraid really gets my goat).

[white_hart]

No problem. I failed to be interested enough to do any further research into the matter (and, given that my degree was in English, haven't read a wide variety of other classical texts to get a wider sense of the portrayal of women), so I'm just quoting what I can remember from a seminar that took place almost fifteen years ago! (Oh dear, that makes me feel old!)

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

Oh dear, that makes me feel old!

God, I know! It doesn't do to actually count up the years since school / Uni / whatever any more, does it? Better to just say 'a few years ago', I find!

Anyway, at least your seminar tutor had his own distinct reading of the Odyssey. He makes me want to argue with him, whereas Atwood just left me saying 'meh'. I think that if she'd gone all out for an ultra-feminist, matriarchal reading, I might actually have respected her more, since at least she'd have been doing something powerful and challenging with the story. As it was, her take just seemed kinda weak and unimportant to me.

[angeoverhere.livejournal.com]

I know exactly what you mean about this book. The idea was very promising, but the delivery was thin, and it all felt a bit knocked together in a hurry, so I found it quite disapointing.

You really *must* read The Handmaid's Tale though.

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

Yep, that's exactly how it seemed. I suppose it's not that surprising, given that it was a commissioned book for an existing series, rather than something that came out of her spontaneously.

And don't worry - someone's lending me The Handmaid's Tale!

[angeoverhere.livejournal.com]

I'd second the Marge Piercy recs above as well, while we're on the subject!

modern versions of ancient myths

[velvet512.livejournal.com]

I've forgotten all the details, but I seem to recall this is one book in a series put out by a publisher whose name eludes me for the time being.

The first volume in the series was by Karen Armstrong. Not one of her best. She seemed to depend on scholarly commentaries rather than personal insight - and you can't really know anything true about myths until you have experienced them.

The second volume in the series is by Jeanette Winterson. It's brilliant. Do get hold of it if you pssibly can.

I too found the Attwood rather less than completely captivating. But maybe that was something to do with reading it after I'd so much enjoyed the Winterson.

Re: modern versions of ancient myths

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

Yes, I just checked on the book - it's Canongate. They have pictures of the covers of the other two books in the series on the inside back cover of the Atwood one.

It's good to hear the Winterson one is a success. As I commented above to someone else, I think part of the problem with the Atwood one may be the very fact that it was commissioned, rather than being her own passionate idea. But it's good to know that another author flourished in the same circumstances.

[sturmed.livejournal.com]

ive never had the urge to read her, and im not sure after your review that i shall.