PENELOPE’S TITUS 2 VIRTUE 17 grow up with a disorderly mind that fears to contribute his own solution to the household’s problem. Although Telemachos asserts to Penelope that he has “the power in this household,” and to the suitors that he “will be the absolute lord over my own household,” he later complains that “we have no man here / such as Odysseus was, to drive this curse from the household.” Telemachos cannot govern his troubled heart strongly because his mind is disordered; for these reasons, he doesn’t act on his own responsibility to drive the suitors from the household. The true evil attacking the household is not the suitors or increasing loss of possessions, but the lack of a father. How Penelope’s Virtue Preserves Her Home Although Odysseus is ultimately at fault for the household troubles, Penelope still has a role in the situation. As we will see, Penelope uses the virtue of a sound mind to avoid both of the extreme choices presented to her by the suitors (either a new, hateful marriage or the destruction of Telemachos’ household). In particular, Penelope’s reluctance to remarry is rooted in her recognition that a new marriage would not garner her a well-ordered home. Homer defines a well-ordered home in part by harmony between a husband and wife. The poet shows us this reality by picturing its inverse. Menelaos’ household evidences clear discord between husband and wife; their lack of friendship seemingly also results in a disorder between the household and its community, as evidenced by the active guards. Similarly, Kaylpso’s household confirms that a husband and wife need to be emotionally connected. Although Penelope cannot rival the goddess in “beauty and stature,” Odysseus later reveals that he can “converse” in human communities rather than among “nymphs” such as Kalypso. Penelope suspects there could be no proper harmony for her in a second marriage. Instead, she holds firmly to the value that a well-ordered home can provide. Hence, the suitors eat up the household while Penelope remains faithful to the lord of that household until Telemachos is ready to assume leadership. Unlike Odysseus, Penelope unwaveringly chooses the possibility of a well-ordered home as the standard for all her actions.
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