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Telemachus
The Suitors are the swarms of men who come to beg for Penelope’s hand in marriage after Odysseus’s departure. The Suitors are generally much younger than Penelope. They profess to be in love with her, and to think she is beautiful and charming. However, behind Penelope’s back, the Suitors talk about how Penelope is old and ugly, and they admit to only pursuing Penelope for her considerable dowry. The Suitors feast every day at Ithaca, eating away at Odysseus’s fortune and Telemachus’s inheritance. They recklessly disregard the property and they rape and seduce Penelope’s Maids. When Odysseus returns to Ithaca, he and Telemachus kill all of the Suitors.
The Suitors Quotes in The Penelopiad
The The Penelopiad quotes below are all either spoken by The Suitors or refer to The Suitors. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 15
Quotes
It was not unusual for the guests in a large household or palace to sleep with the maids. To provide a lively night’s entertainment was considered part of a good host’s hospitality, and such a host would magnanimously offer his guests their pick of the girls—but it was most irregular for the servants to be used in this way without the permission of the master of the house. Such an act amounted to thievery.
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Chapter 19
Quotes
I then related a dream of mine. It concerned my flock of lovely white geese, geese of which I was very fond. I dreamt that they were happily pecking around the yard when a huge eagle with a crooked beak swooped down and killed them all, whereupon I wept and wept.
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Chapter 20
Quotes
The more outrageous versions have it that I slept with all of the Suitors, one after another—over a hundred of them—and then gave birth to the Great God Pan. Who could believe such a monstrous tale? Some songs aren’t worth the breath expended on them.
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Chapter 21
Quotes
Let us just say: There is another story.
Or several, as befits the goddess Rumour…
Word has it that Penelope the Prissy
Was—when it came to sex— no shrinking sissy!
Some said…that each and every brisk contender
By turns did have the fortune to upend her,
By which promiscuous acts the goat-god Pan
Was then conceived, or so the fable ran.
The truth, dear auditors, is seldom certain—
But let us take a peek behind the curtain!
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The Suitors Quotes in The Penelopiad
The The Penelopiad quotes below are all either spoken by The Suitors or refer to The Suitors. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 15
Quotes
It was not unusual for the guests in a large household or palace to sleep with the maids. To provide a lively night’s entertainment was considered part of a good host’s hospitality, and such a host would magnanimously offer his guests their pick of the girls—but it was most irregular for the servants to be used in this way without the permission of the master of the house. Such an act amounted to thievery.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19
Quotes
I then related a dream of mine. It concerned my flock of lovely white geese, geese of which I was very fond. I dreamt that they were happily pecking around the yard when a huge eagle with a crooked beak swooped down and killed them all, whereupon I wept and wept.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 20
Quotes
The more outrageous versions have it that I slept with all of the Suitors, one after another—over a hundred of them—and then gave birth to the Great God Pan. Who could believe such a monstrous tale? Some songs aren’t worth the breath expended on them.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21
Quotes
Let us just say: There is another story.
Or several, as befits the goddess Rumour…
Word has it that Penelope the Prissy
Was—when it came to sex— no shrinking sissy!
Some said…that each and every brisk contender
By turns did have the fortune to upend her,
By which promiscuous acts the goat-god Pan
Was then conceived, or so the fable ran.
The truth, dear auditors, is seldom certain—
But let us take a peek behind the curtain!
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
