In The Penelopiad, Penelope introduces herself as the narrator of her own story. After centuries of hearing Odysseus's version of events in Ithaca, she is determined to clarify the tale. She feels Odysseus tricked her for years, and she chose not to see his deceptions an lies. Though she has no body and no mouth in her present underworld reality, she hopes her audience will be able to heed her advice and avoid repeating her mistakes.
The 12 maids who lived alongside and served Penelope and the Ithaca court sing poetically - yet cryptically - about their hated mistress and unfortunate deaths.
Penelope then describes her childhood in Sparta. When she was but a child, her father Icarius attempted drowning her to presumably reverse a prophesy. Yet, as the daughter of a Naiad, or water nymph, Penelope was saved by a flock of ducks. Centuries later, she still cannot understand why exactly her father tried to kill her. Because of Icarius's bizarre cruelty and her mother's distant demeanor, Penelope learned self-reliance early.
The maids sing about their own childhoods. Born to peasants, slaves, and serfs, the 12 girls' fates were decided for them. Sent to Ithaca as helpless children, they seemed designed to fulfill a role as objects, playthings, and manipulative devices.
Penelope describes the perpetual darkness of life in Hades. The only place she can find a reprieve from the torment of the underworld is in the fields of white asphodel fields; however, after centuries of drifting, event the fields bore her. One of the other opportunities for spirits to escape Hades is through summonings and conjurings. Visiting the living also bores Penelope, as she believes their troubles are petty and the games of the magicians are embarrassing. Whereas the living rarely call upon Penelope, they frequently ask for Helen, as she is still rumored to be the most beautiful woman.
When Penelope was 15, Icarius hosted a marital ceremony. The man who won the game would also win Penelope's hand and the riches of her dowry. Through a series of deceptions, Odysseus championed the game; he and Penelope married shortly thereafter. Contrary to tradition, he then took her back to his home in Ithaca along with her dowry.
The maids sing a mocking tune about Penelope's marriage to Odysseus and her subsequent trip to Sparta. The stanzas make fun of Penelope's reliance on Odysseus to grant her a new life.
While the boat trip was taxing, Penelope was excited for her new life away from Sparta. Yet life in Ithaca proved difficult, as neither Odysseus's parents nor his servants seemed to approve of Penelope. Eurycleia, Odysseus's childhood nurse, was particularly unkind, assuring Penelope her sole responsibility was to produce an heir. After Telemachus was born, Penelope hoped Odysseus would be less distracted; yet he only seems proud of her because she beat Helen to birthing an heir.
The maids sing about their arrival in Ithaca shortly after Telemachus's birth. They were only sent to the island to act as playthings for the new prince. Their song laments their ignorance regarding Telemachus's ultimate involvement in their deaths. They wish they had killed him when he was a child, but admit they do not know if they could have committed the deed. They declare that even they do not know their own hearts.
A year after Telemachus's birth, Odysseus and Penelope learned of Helen's disappearance to Troy with Paris. Determined to recover his wife, Menelaus invoked Odysseus's assistance. Much to Penelope's chagrin, Odysseus ventured out in pursuit of her philandering cousin.
Over the next 10 years, Penelope waited in Ithaca without Odysseus. She heard word of his adventures through the traveling minstrels. The tales told of Odysseus's near escapes from death, encounters with giants, and affairs with goddesses. Though she listened to all of the rumors, Penelope was reluctant to believe most of them. More years continued to pass without Odysseus's return. His mother died and his father left for the countryside. Penelope assumed control of the kingdom, learning the ways of a ruler.
The maids then sing about all of Odysseus's seafaring explorations and shenanigans; their chorus confirms all of Penelope's longtime fears about her husband's whereabouts and activities.
