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Penelope

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Faithful wife of Odysseus who waited twenty years for his return from Troy, cleverly delaying suitors by weaving and unweaving a burial shroud, embodying loyalty and cunning.

Detailed Definition
Penelope, queen of Ithaca, fended off suitors during Odysseus’s long absence by weaving and unweaving a shroud—a symbol of patience and fidelity. In poetry, she represents marital loyalty, quiet strength, and the endurance of love through time and uncertainty.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Homer’s "Odyssey," Penelope weaves and unweaves Laertes’ shroud, symbolizing fidelity and cunning; In Ovid’s "Heroides," Penelope’s letter to Odysseus voices longing; In Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Ulysses,” Penelope represents domestic stability; In H.D.’s “Penelope,” the figure reclaims patience as strength; In modern feminist poetry, Penelope often signifies strategic waiting; In Tracy K. Smith’s “Watershed,” Penelope’s loom echoes in systemic resilience.
Additional Notes
Penelope, Odysseus’s faithful wife who fends off suitors by weaving and unweaving a shroud, symbolizes cunning patience, marital loyalty, and female agency within constraint; poets highlight her intelligence and endurance—her loom becomes a metaphor for narrative control, and modern retellings (e.g., by Margaret Atwood) reclaim her voice from passive archetype.
Other Meanings of “Penelope”
Also Known As
Faithful Weaver Queen of Ithaca Waiter for Odysseus
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