In The Penelopiad, Atwood transforms the classic nature of Homers The Odyssey by means of demythologizing burlesque and tragical conventions present in the Greek epic. It is without saying, however, that in spite of obvious differences, The Penelopiad also displays significant similarities in terms of narrative techniques and thematic concerns to its historic counterpart. Apparent in the title, Atwoods The Penelopiad explores the perspective of Penelope, wife to the poignant character Odysseus from The Odyssey, and upon doing so, introduces a multitude of facets to her character, absent in the original version. This disruption of the primordial nature of The Odyssey, predominantly its legacy in the literary canon, is achieved using the guise of a contemporary narrator who, throughout the novel, reaffirms major events pertaining to the transmitted myth of The Odyssey and mythicizes ones that are unaccounted for, thereby constructing a divergent perspective within the same story. Where shall I begin?
There are only two choices: at the beginning or not at the beginning& but since there are differences of opinion about that, Ill begin with my own birth (Chapter 2). Here, Atwood foregrounds the oral nature of Penelopes narrative by bypassing the worlds genesis and instead focusing extensively on the narration of her genealogy, thus challenging the traditional framework of a heroic epic.
Additionally, Atwoods employment of gender as a literary technique destabilizes patriarchal grounding on the exclusion and suppression of female traditions. In a passage, Penelope admits she turned a blind eye to Odysseuss negative traits of slipperiness&wiliness&foxiness in order to have her happy ending. These exerts, whilst providing female agency and thereupon denouncing the dominant masculine discourse in odyssean narratives, also subverts audiences expectations by introducing complexity to the relationship of Penelope and Odysseus, who was subject to a seemingly perfect portrayal in their mythological versions.