The Ancient World (HUM 124 - UNC Asheville)/Texts/Odyssey/Book 19

Summary of Book 19 "The Queen and the Beggar"

After the suitors leave for the night, Odysseus and Telemachus then begin removing the arms, which he then tells Eurycleia that he is storing them away. Telemachus then leaves and Penelope then joins Odysseus because she knows that the new "visitor" has met Odysseus. She tests his claim by asking him to describe Odysseus, which from there he describes him perfectly since he is actually Odysseus disguised as a beggar. He then explains that Odysseus is alive and well. After he declines Penelope's proposal of giving him a bed to sleep in, he then lets Eurycleia wash his feet. As she is doing so, she notices a scar on his foot, which gives away his true identity. She begins to get excited and Odysseus quiets her down so that Penelope will not find out. After Eurycleia promises to keep the secret she then retires for the night. Penelope then comes back and describes a dream that she had where an eagle came down and killed her flock of geese. The eagle begins to speak in a human voice and says that he is her husband and the geese were all of the suitors that were killed. Odysseus then explains the dreams meaning to Penelope. She then decides that she is going to marry a new suitor anyways and will marry who ever can shoot an arrow through the holes of twelve axes that are in a line.

Characters

Make a list of all the characters that appear in the book, in order of appearance. If a character appears only in this chapter, write a fuller (but still brief) description (for what that entails, see the character page). For characters that appear in multiple books (like Odysseus or Penelope), link to the entry on the character page. You can add interesting information or trivia for common characters like Odysseus (e.g., that in this book you get the story of how he was born), but you do not need to describe the character in detail. Ideally, someone will do that on the character page.

Major Characters

Odysseus ~ Considered the main character of the whole book and main focal point

Penelope ~ Wife to Odysseus and Mother to Telemachus, she is also faithful to Odysseus as she waits for his return

Eurycleia ~ An old Nurse to Odysseus who can also be considered faithful and trustworthy

Telemachus ~ The son of Odysseus and Penelope

Ancient worldview

Woman considered Inferior:

1. The part where Eurycleia begins to wash Odysseus's feet who is disguised as a beggar, shows the ancient world view of the role of woman. Since Eurycleia is a woman and is washing a mans feet it relates to the view of how woman were considered inferior to men and normally performed the jobs of preparing meals and cleaning. Although there are mentions of female house servants, Penelope on the other hand is seen as head of the house, which does show that there were different ranks and pillars of society. "I do not care for footbaths; do not let any of these slave women in your house come near my feet, unless there is an old one whom I can trust."

Hospitality:

1. There is a scene in the book where Penelope is welcoming "Odysseus" into her home while providing to his needs such as providing a bed to sleep, which shows the ancient worldview on hospitality and how households were essentially set up. "Make a bed with mattress, woolen blankets and fresh clean sheets, to keep him warm till Dawn." (pg. 434-435)

2. The other example of hospitality can be seen through Penelope providing servants to Odysseus to help with other needs of his such as bathing and cleaning. "Bathe and oil him; seat him inside the hall, beside my son, and let him eat." (pg. 435)