How does your novel represent justice?
With The Odyssey being told primarily as an epic tale and used as a source of entertainment rather than character development or plot, the injustices toward Penelope and the twelve maids are ignored in favor of supporting Odysseus' journey of greatness. In my own opinion, the untold story of Penelope and the maids is a supporting detail that demonstrates Odysseus' tirade of power and adventure and does not purely exist to merely discredit the women of the story. Though the outdated ideas of the time period in which The Odyssey was written in are shown in the story through Odysseus' actions, The Penelopiad is a story of justice that takes a different stance on the importance of plot, social awareness, and culture when compared to its origin story. The alternative perspective that the work has given us thus far shows a different side to the adventure that is told in The Odyssey, giving the underrepresented characters, who were previously used as a plot device, feelings, perspective, and a unique story--thus giving justice to characters who did not have any humanlike portrayal in the original work. The Odyssey was written in an era that mainly focused on entertainment and heroism, as the majority of the population could not read. However, in our modern era of education, we are able to take a deeper look into the rather anti-feminist ideas Homer implemented into the original work and give further insight into the true storyline. The Penelopiad gives justice to the victims of the original storyline, giving deeper meaning to the previous plot that focuses on heroic adventures and heroes who can do no wrong.
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