Homers Penelope
In her essay "Penelope as Moral Agent," Helene Foley attempts to discuss Penelope, a major character in Homer's the Odyssey, in terms of Classical Athenian portrayals of women and, as her title suggests, in terms of what she calls a "moral agent." In her introductory paragraph she lays out guidelines as set down by Aristotle and his contemporaries that constitute a moral agent: the character must make an ethical and moral decision "on which the actions turns…without critical knowledge of the circumstances" (Foley 93). To this end, Foley ultimately decides that Penelope meets these standards and adds that her social, familial and personal responsibilities play integral roles in making that decision. Foley's examples and her in-depth analysis of the Odyssey all support her thesis as I have interpreted it to be. There are, however, problems in her comparison of the Odyssey and outside texts (especially that of Carol Gilligan), inconsistencies in citations and style, and examples that either have little or nothing to do with her thesis.. The largest problem with this essay that I could find is the ignorance of a few facts that could possibly be construed as being in opposition to her findings.
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Classical Athenian, Foley Gilligan's, Ithaka Homer, Politics Greek, Pallas Athene, Troy Homer, Odysseus Homer, Hades Greek, Foley Penelope, Aristotle Hippocrates, outside texts, moral agent, classical athenian, direct comparison, question fidelity, assumptions women moral, decision mother, penelope's remarriage, husband foley, set aristotle, introductory paragraph, odyssey outside texts, women moral agents,
Approximate Word count = 3023
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)
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