Cult of the Mother Goddess

books:


	• The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus (Myths, The) Margaret Atwood Canongate U.S., 2006 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 17 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Light, satirical and racy

Definitely different than any Atwood I've read. Told from the perspective of Penelope, Odysseus's long suffering, devoted wife, about what really went on during his travels ... and most of it is not flattering of Odysseus or, frankly, of Penelope. This story is light and satirical, if a bit racy at times. An amusing and extremely quick read that broke up the heavy subject matter I have been reading as of late (e.g., The Road, No Country for Old Men). Makes me want to go back and read The Odyssey all over again!

Cult of the Mother Goddess

Margaret Atwood reveals Helen as a heartless bimbo trading on her looks, and she vividly recaptures the tensions of domestic Ithaca (dealing with Odysseus' ex-nanny proves predictably more of a problem than Homer ever let on). There are delights, too, for classical "insiders": the debate, for example, about whether Penelope and Odysseus are to set up house in the bride's or the groom's home turns into a neat joke about changes in prehistoric Greek marriage practice. But more than this - and here Atwood is far ahead of Winterson - she explores, through the figures of Odysseus and Penelope, the very nature of mythic story-telling. When Odysseus is such a renowned liar, how is Penelope to understand what he tells her on his return from his wanderings? Can you know something to be untrue and still "believe" it?

The only blot on this brilliant book is a chapter entitled "An Anthropology Lecture". This insists, through the mouth of the murdered maids, that deep beneath the story of Penelope lies the cult of the Mother Goddess, and that anyone who does not accept the matriarchal substrate of Greek myth has not learned the lessons of feminism. This is complete rubbish (most feminists I know think that matriarchy is itself a myth invented by patriarchal culture).

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A Woman's Take

Although it seems I know a lot of people who aren't a huge fan of Atwood, I've liked the writing of hers I've read so far and although I'm not an uber feminist, her perspective on things has made me reconsider certain 'give-ins' in our society.

The book is actually a retelling of Homer's "The Odyssey". I read the Odyssey about six months before reading this book, and I'm not sure how interesting this book would be to someone who HADN'T read it. To sum up The Odyssey, it's an oral story/poem written down that follows the adventures of a cunning adventurer named Odysseus, who ventures far and wide for 20 years while his steadfast wife stays at home, hoping for his return.

Atwood's Penelopiad is the story of Penelope, Odysseus' wife, told from her own voice in the depths of Hades. There is an interesting mix between referencing historical mythology (a lot of the story refers to the Greek gods of Penelope's time) and modern day society, with Penelope providing a crisp and at times snarky portrayal of her life from start to finish, including her marriage to Odysseus, the massacre that occured at her home, and what Odysseus is up to in the 'after life' of sorts.

One focus of the book in particular, which is partially illustrated through interludes in the book written as songs, poems etc. is the hanging of 12 of Penelope's favourite maids during the massacre at her home. Atwood, with her feminist viewpoint, tackles the injustice of this act quite deftly, especially if one took the story of The Odyssey to be true.

Overall I enjoyed this book - it was a very very quick read, and gave some life and humour to The Odyssey as well as some feminist perspective. I don't think I'd reccomend it unless you've read The Odyssey, but if you have for sure pick up a copy of this book.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

Margaret Atwood returns with a shrewd, funny, and insightful retelling of the myth of Odysseus from the point of view of Penelope. Describing her own remarkable vision, the author writes in the foreword, ?I?ve chosen to give the telling of the story to Penelope and to the twelve hanged maids. The maids form a chanting and singing Chorus, which focuses on two questions that must pose themselves after any close reading of the Odyssey: What led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to? The story as told in the Odyssey doesn?t hold water: there are too many inconsistencies. I?ve always been haunted by the hanged maids and, in The Penelopiad, so is Penelope herself.? One of the high points of literary fiction in 2005, this critically acclaimed story found a vast audience and is finally available in paperback.

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