Recognizing Odysseus, reading Penelope: theanagnōrisisin the 23rd book of theOdyssey

Abstract

AbstractThe article argues that Penelope recognizes Odysseus atOdyssey23.32–33, not, as is usually held, at 205–06. Recognition is here analysed as a multi-componential process, in which Penelope’s coming to know Odysseus’ identity must be distinguished from her letting on that she knows, and in which her recognition of the man before her as her long-lost husband does not automatically entail the immediate rekindling of all the old emotions. The narrative ofOdyssey23.1–230 is shown to be interested in tracing Penelope’s progression through the various components of recognition (knowledge, acknowledgement, emotional reconnection). The article explores the reasons why Penelope may consent to full reunion with Odysseus a good deal later than she has actually recognized him. Among these reasons, as well as the need for emotional attunement between Odysseus and Penelope, is Penelope’s need to ‘manage face’vis-à-visEurycleia, Telemachus and Odysseus. It is argued, further, that the narrative of theOdysseycharacteristically requires us to read the minds of its characters, above all Penelope in book 23. A mind-reading approach to the poem is justified in principle and grounded in a detailed reading ofOdyssey23.1–230. The wider interpretative implications for the poetics of the poem as whole are also explored.