Penelope's Daughters

University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Zea E-Books Zea E-Books 4-3-2016 Penelope’s Daughters Barbara Dell`Abate-Çelebi Beykent University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/zeabook Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, Classical Literature and Philology Commons, Comparative Literature Commons, French and Francophone Literature Commons, Italian Literature Commons, Literature in English, North America Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Dell`Abate-Çelebi, Barbara, "Penelope’s Daughters" (2016). Zea E-Books. Book 39. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/zeabook/39 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Zea E-Books at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Zea E-Books by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Penelope’s Daughters Barbara Dell’Abate-Çelebi A feminist perspective of the myth of Penelope in Annie Leclerc’s Toi, Pénélope, Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad and Silvana La Spina’s Penelope At the origin of Western literature stands Queen Penelope—faithfully waiting for her husband to come home: keeping house, holding on to the throne, keeping the suitors at arm’s length, preserving Odysseus’ place and memory, deserted for the pursuit of war and adventures, and bringing up a son alone, but always keeping the marriage intact. Yet recently the character of Penelope, long the archetype of abandoned, faithful, submissive, passive wife, has been reinterpreted by feminist criticism and re-envisioned by three modern novels — in French, English, and Italian — to emerge as a central, strong, self-determining, and erotically liberated female icon. Her character “is permeated with new and more complex representations of feminine diversity that, by subverting the roles attested by the canon, break with stereotypes and pursue autonomy.” Part one of this book covers “Feminist Literary Criticism and the Theme of Penelope”; part two considers “Penelope in Three (Feminist) Revisionist Novels” – by Annie Leclerc, Margaret Atwood and Silvana La Spina. These feminist revisions of myths of womanhood and rewritings of female archetypes from a feminist perspective broaden the definition of femininity to include new possibilities and more inclusive representations of female identity. Barbara Dell’Abate-Çelebi is the author of L’alieno dentro: Percorso semiotico alle origini del romanzo femminista italiano (2011) and La letteratura in gioco (2016). She is Assistant Professor in the Department of English Translation and Interpreting at Beykent University and Visiting Instructor in the Department of French Literature at Galatasaray University, both in Istanbul. She holds a degree in Modern Languages and Literatures from the University of Naples ‘L’Orientale’ and a PhD in Italian literature from the University of Istanbul. She has taught Italian, English and French literature at the University of Istanbul, Koç University and Université Libre de Bruxelles. Cover illustration based on a Roman fresco found in Pompeii, National Archaeological Mu- seum of Naples. ISBN 978-1-60962-084-4 (electronic book) Zea Books Lincoln, Nebraska Penelope’s Daughters Penelope’s daughters A feminist perspective of the myth of Penelope in Annie Leclerc’s Toi, Pénélope, Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad and Silvana La Spina’s Penelope Barbara Dell’Abate-Çelebi Zea Books: Lincoln, Nebraska 2016 Copyright © 2016 Barbara Dell’Abate-Çelebi. All rights reserved. ISBN 978-1-60962-083-7 paperback ISBN 978-1-60962-084-4 electronic book Composed in Georgia and Lithos types by Paul Royster. Zea Books are published by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries. Digital ebook edition (pdf) available at http://digitalcommons.unl.edu Print edition can be ordered from http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/unllib UNL does not discriminate based upon any protected status. Please see go.unl.edu/nondiscrimination Per Ümit, sonsuza dek Contents Foreword by Prof. Visam Mansur . 9 Preface . 11 A note on the translation of French and Italian texts . 15 Introduction: Penelope and the Myth of True Womanhood . 17 Part I: Feminist Literary Criticisms and the Theme of Penelope 1. Feminist Literary Criticisms and Women’s Writing: an Overview . 29 Anglo-American Feminist Literary Criticism . 36 French Feminist Literary Criticism . 59 Italian Feminist Literary Criticism . 64 2. The Theme of Penelope at the Origin . 73 The Odyssey by Homer . 74 Penelope and the Odyssey . 80 Conclusion . 100 Part II: Penelope in Three (Feminist) Revisionist Novels 3. Annie Leclerc: Toi, Pénélope (2001) . 105 4. Margaret Atwood: The Penelopiad (2005) . 121 5. Silvana La Spina: Penelope (1998) . 143 Conclusion . 167 Bibliography . 178 Figure credits . 185 7 Foreword In the introductory part of this book Dr. Barbara Dell’Abate-Çelebi traces the changing perceptions of Penelope from the 5th century BC to the 20th century. We learn how Penelope’s image alternated from that of an adulter- ess to a faithful spouse awaiting the return of a lost husband and lover. The book attributes the changes in attitude and ways of representation of Penel- ope to the then current political and social status quo. In a style that addresses both the professional scholar and the beginner in literary theory, chapter one traces the emergence, growth and develop- ment of the feminist movement from its inception around the early 19th century to the postmodern era. We learn, for example, that Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley’s mother, was described by a later generation feminist critic as a “hyena in petticoats” and a “philosophical wanton.” We also learn that some feminist scholars view the sexual relation as a beating by the penis or a symbolic form of male aggression. The discussion invokes an array of in- fluential female scholars who shaped the feminist movements in the western world, including Simone de Beauvoir, Betty Friedan, Kate Millett, Mary Ell- mann, Elaine Showalter, Sandra Gilbert, and many more. Literary and philosophical movements that influenced feminist thinking are dealt with and elucidated too. Structural theories, we learn, such as formalism, new criticism, and most linguistic-based readings of texts are opposed by the various feminist movements as they have alienated the text from its cultural and historical signification. Chapter two provides a succinct and interesting introduction to the historical and mythical origins of Homer and his composition. With scholarly precision, the author documents the writings of various critics who shed light on Homer, his work and his world. Ulysses gains his mythical reputa- tion, the author tells us, because of his refusal to accept mortality at the ex- pense of denying recognition of the human condition. The chapter also examines how Penelope moved from the marginal position assigned by earlier critics to occupy a central position in the epic as judged by postmodernist in- terpreters. The chapter refers to seminal scholars such as Marie Madelaine Mactoux, Marylin Arthur-Katz, Nancy Felson-Rubin, Ioanna Papadopolou- Belmehdi, and Adriana Cavarero, among others whose perceptions of Pe- nelope are similarly insightful and provoking. 9 10 penelope’s daughters Chapter three compares the original Penelope with the Penelope of Toi, Pénélope by Annie Leclerc. The analysis of the texts is a tour de force through two diff erent mind sets: one is Homeric and the other is contemporary. In a critical reading of the two Penelopes’ social and psychological situatedness, Dr. Dell’Abate Celebi argues that memory and oblivion are among the mo- tives of modern Penelope’s attachment to her absent spouse. Chapter four examines The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood. We learn that Atwood’s career not only involves writing about “power politics” be- tween lovers but also gives voice to silenced and marginalized females in mythical and other narratives. With this in mind, the chapter animates an altogether new Penelope who is very diff erent from her Homeric namesake. Is the new Penelope wicked, faithful, treacherous, dangerous, and subver- sive? Answers lie in the way Penelope is analyzed in this chapter. Penelope by Silvana La Spina is the subject of the fi fth and last chapter of the book. Penelope is viewed from a modern Italian feminist perspective as a victim of institutionalized violence against women. We see a Penelope vocalizing the humiliation and violence infl icted upon women in the name of social values and norms. The argument in the chapter is informative, ex- citing, and inspiring. Throughout, the text is infused with French and Italian quotations that add a touch of lyrical sweetness to the reading. For those who cannot read French and Italian or infer the meaning from the context, English translation is provided in the endnotes. Prof. Dr. Visam Mansur Head of the English Language and Literature Department Beykent University, Istanbul Preface This book has many souls and multiple sources of inspiration. The original idea dates back to 2007 when I was asked to speak of the literary character of Penelope in a course dedicated to the Odyssey within the program of Ital- ian Literature at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). I was just com- pleting my Ph.D. thesis on Italian feminist writers and certainly, I thought, Penelope did not re-enter within classical feminist or proto-feminist figures. As I remembered her from my readings of the Odyssey in high school and university she was utterly at the antipodes of it, rather a passive and subordinated character, secondary to the super-hero Ulysses. However I had quite a lot to discover. I started my research in the ULB library where I came across mainly with French sources (re-elaborated in the second chapter dedicated to the myth of Penelope) centering mainly on the idea drawn from Ioanna Papadopoulou-Belmehdi’s re-interpretation of Penelope as the central character of the Odyssey, the one who allows with her memory the return of Ulysses to Ithaca.

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