Penelope and Odysseus: ACT II - Convergence
Plotting Murder, His Mother's Son, When Penelope Knew, Exposures, Intercourse without Touching, Cover Stories
ACT II Convergence
Scenes 1 - 2 Plotting Murder
Scene 3 His Mother's Son, and Exposures
Scene 4 Intercourse, Exposure, and Cover Stories
Act II Scene 1
(Melantho-Female18 is in bed with Eurymachus)
MELANTHO - Female 18
Eurymachus, suppose the old bat marries you. What will you do with her and me?
EURYMACHUS
Melantho, my dear, no need to worry. If Penelope picks me or Antinous, that man will be king. We are the two strongest men in these islands. And, after Helen, Penelope ranks highest of all Achaean women in fame and esteem, for her matchless wit, her beauty, her fine skills in weaving and needle work, and her royal lineage, daughter of king Icarius.
As king—I think now she will have to pick me, after Antinous's mad threat on her life. Thank you, my dear, for telling me—I can keep you for pleasures of the night, while she puts on a show as queen by day, and you will enjoy luxury in leisure.
Our need, now, is to kill Telemachus. He's a threat to us as long as he lives.
MELANTHO - Female 18
Why, then, didn't you or Antinous just take her—force her—to marry years ago, when he was still a boy? She had no powerful defenders. Who would have stopped you?
EURYMACHUS
There's her devilish trickery again. Four years ago, with Odysseus long gone, Antinous and I paid court to her, and she never said no. We got into hot competition, when all of a sudden hordes of suitors showed up, and stayed. Rather than make a choice, she encouraged each and every one of them, with private messages, giving each of them hope. They are so vain and greedy that each believes he has a chance. The fools.
She ruined everything. Now, no man can prevail by force because the others would not allow it.
But we are united to kill Telemachus, in secret, before he returns. All the suitors agreed, for a chance to win Penelope, and divide the huge estate among us. We've got 20 men lying in wait in our fastest ship, hidden in the channel far from city view, so no one will see us kill the boy. Our men take turns on lookout during the day, and they patrol the waters at night to keep him from slipping through that way. People will wonder at his absence, but no one will be able to prove a thing.
MELANTHO - Female 18
If no one will fight for Telemachus, why pussyfoot around? Why not baldly kill the boy and make Penelope choose a husband?
EURYMACHUS
My dear, it is true, we need not fear royal law. It collapsed under the war with Troy, especially in these islands on the Western frontier: So many kings and princes dead or long absent—Agamemnon, Achilles, Ajax, Menelaus. So much resentment at the war's deaths and taxes. We've had no king since Odysseus left 20 years ago, and his son is no more eligible to be king than I am...but...
Even we can't flout custom or public opinion too flagrantly. The old values are still followed: Honor and fear the gods; respect members of the community; welcome guests—even strangers—with food, comfort, courtesy. And woe to those who disrespect gods, community, and courtesy. These values keep the community strong in this dangerous world. Odysseus was of this old school.
As king he ruled gently and showed no favorites, rare in a king, who can reward and punish as he chooses. Many people loved him for it. I myself remember him holding me on his knees and feeding me often, tidbits and red wine.
To followers of the old values, we have grievously violated a great house—raped it, plotted murder—and deserve to die: Death to those who would bring death. But they're too weak to fight us, so we don't care about them and their values. This is a great house undefended, just asking to be plundered.
And, we have custom on our side too. Odysseus is thought dead. Telemachus is of age to inherit the estate and marry. If he does, Penelope can stay on as a third wheel in that household, return unwanted to her father, or remarry, by far the best course, and her husband could expect a rich dowry (if he doesn't push Telemachus out and take over the entire estate). We are within our rights to court her. Nobody challenges that. If we go over the line, eating up the estate's livestock, having our way with his household...the occasional drunken outrage...we can still say Penelope brought it on by promising marriage but not choosing a husband. And, choose, she must: the man who can protect her best, Me!
Most people won't fight us over that, but open murder is different. It rouses deadly passions, gives common cause to rally round. People still come when criers call a full assembly, as Telemachus did, the first in 20 years!—and we are much smaller than the community as a whole. We have to be careful. So, stay close to Penelope at all times. If Telemachus escapes our trap and returns, they may plot revenge. Tell me immediately of any meetings, especially if you are excluded from a conversation.
MELANTHO - Female 18
I'll tell you gladly. The sooner you kill Telemachus, the safer I'll feel. He's nearly a man now, grown strong. I'm afraid he'll cut me down some day for plotting with you. The sooner he's gone, the sooner I can end this charade of doing chores and be full-time mistress to you. Eleven other maids sleep with suitors, feel the same way. Nothing will get by us.
End of Act II Scene 1
Act II Scene 2
(Low light somewhere outside the great hall.)
EURYMACHUS
Bad news, friends, bad news. Telemachus was spotted back here on Ithaca. He went inland after landing. Damn the boy. We missed our chance to kill him.
ANTINOUS
No wait, Eurymachus. You said he went inland. Then we can still do it. If we catch him in the hills, out of sight, before he comes to town, we may yet kill him and escape blame. Then we could divide the estate among us, with the house itself going to whoever marries Penelope. But if Telemachus lives, he knows we tried to kill him. He could rouse the community and oust us, especially if he mustered support from Odysseus's friends on the mainland. We might be driven into exile, or worse.
AMPHINOMUS
O Friends, I am against killing Telemachus. It is a great sin—and bad precedent, if one of us is to be king—to shed royal blood. The gods themselves would punish us even if no man did. And no one can prove we tried to kill him; we never got close. In his anger, maybe he will overstep himself, assault one of us, give us an opening. Better to call in Leiodes. He can read the signs. If Zeus approves killing Telemachus, I'll be all for it, urge everyone on, do the job myself if called for. But if the gods are against it, I'm against it.
UNNAMED SUITOR - Male 50
Amphinomus is right. Let the gods seal Telemachus's fate—and absolve us!
UNNAMED SUITOR - Male 20
"Aye! Let the gods decide!"
(Sound of many men saying "Aye")
The three conferences are in book 4, 16 (321+), and 20 (219+)
End of Act II Scene 2
Act II Scene 3
His Mother's Son, and Exposures
(Penelope is seen working on clothing, preferable on a loom with purple wool, in her chambers. The great room is dark but noisy. Then it suddenly hushes. Eurycleia-Bard rushes in. She shows signs of advanced age, but is not crippled.)
EURYCLEIA - Bard
Mistress! Mistress! Telemachus has returned.
(Telemachus enters Penelope's room followed by Melantho-Female18. As Penelope says the following, she hugs, kisses, looks at Telemachus.)
PENELOPE
Telemachus! Light of my life! I thought I'd never see you again! Why did you ship out without my permission? Without even saying goodbye! And the suitors plotting to kill you! I fell lost in darkness. Thank God you're back! Who did you visit? What did you see? Did you find news of your father?
(A man in demeanor now, not a youth, Telemachus looks about, looks at Melantho-Female18, then speaks, brusquely.)
TELEMACHUS
I can recount very little that you don't already know, I'm sorry to say. Dear old Mentor guided me. We eluded the suitors' trap by sailing home the long way round, landing on the far side of the island. I went directly to Eumaeus, at his hut tending swine, for news of what has happened while I was gone. As for what I learned, Menelaus told me what the Old Man of the Sea, Proteus, who is infallible, told him. Father is stranded on a desert isle, with no means to come home. That is all. Now I must get something to eat.
(Telemachus goes from Penelope's room into the great room, which lights up, then begins to eat, with his back to the back wall. Onstage: Antinous, Eurymachus, and Amphinomus are eating, lounging, talking to each other (silently); all wear swords. Exit Melantho-Female18 and Eurycleia-Bard. Penelope remains alone, looking at Telemachus, watchfully, as if never to take her eyes off her son again, as if she could protect him that way from the suitors' plots.)
PENELOPE
My son is transformed. He left, a youth, unsure of himself. He returned, just eight days later, a man, purposeful, like a soldier with marching orders.
Transformed. By a god? Or by a man who would be like a god to him? He speaks of Odysseus, alive....
Odysseus...How would he come? If in force, openly? After all these years? Would he risk being trapped and killed by this wolf pack of suitors as Agamemnon was killed? No. He'd want to scout the field, learn the character of each suitor. He trusts nothing he doesn't test for himself. So he would come in secret. And if he came without power, much more likely, he would certainly come in secret, and in disguise.
Disguise....How to hide his broad chest, those strong hands, the shape of his head, his rare eyes? They must be covered. How? Rags. A beggar's rags. They'd hide the form. The suitors would look away from that eyesore. They could not imagine "King Odysseus" in rags. And stink. Up close, they would turn their heads away too. Yes, that might do.
(During this monologue, as Telemachus eats, Eumaeus-Female18 enters the great room. When Penelope finishes, Beggar-Male50 enters, humped over, leaning on a stick, in rags, a modest bundle of possessions slung over his shoulder, and begins to talk (silently) with Eumaeus-Female18. Enter Unnamed suitor-Bard, who begins to eat.)
The suitors are gorging as usual. Oh? A beggar!... And look! Old Argus, the pup Odysseus left behind, has pricked up his ears as the beggar talks...with Eumaeus.
(A dog puppet does these things, then dies and is withdrawn offstage.)
With Eumaeus, faithful swineherd! And Telemachus just came from you. If HE were about, HE would go to you first: true heart, up in the hills, far from town, far from discovery. I bet HE would test you plenty too, would learn how the land lies. But would he tell you who he is? Not likely. Loyal, you are, but, could you keep that secret bottled up in you? So many spies...too risky to tell him. Too risky even trying to tell me. If, IF... I am as careful as you ever were, dear heart. What a pair we make. MADE! If only I could hear what Argus heard!
(Beggar-Male50 goes up to Telemachus, begging, and Telemachus gives him some food.)
BEGGAR - Male 50
(Loudly, walking to the middle of the stage)
Great Zeus! Bless Telemachus! Grant him what he most desires in this world.
(Beggar-Male50 approaches Eurymachus and then Suitor-Bard, who give him food then quickly shoo him off, averting their eyes and noses, never looking closely at him. The beggar now approaches Antinous. Exit Suitor-Bard.)
Noble Sir, give something to a poor traveler. The others gave bread, and you are by your looks surely better than they, so you will give better, meat with the bread, and I will tell the world of your goodness as I go on my way.
ANTINOUS
Get away from me you vile, pestilent… pest! Engulf me in your foul odor, will you? I'll make you wish you never entered this hall if you don't get away!
BEGGAR - Male 50
(Backs away, talking ever more loudly.)
Kingly you look, but cruel and heartless you prove inside! Here you are, living free and clear off another man's estate, and you cannot give me a small piece of bread, that costs you nothing!
ANTINOUS
Now you're in for it! You won't get away unpunished from that.
(With this, Antinous throws/wields a stool and hits the beggar on his shoulder.)
TELEMACHUS
(Starts to rise, says the following, then sits again as the beggar shrugs it off)
Antinous! Leave the poor man alone!
BEGGAR - Male 50
(Walks on, sits on the doorsill, loudly addresses the crowd)
Noble lords and suitors of great Queen Penelope! A man does not feel pain or regret when he is hit while defending his own house, family, and property. But here Antinous hit a man who is just trying to fend off hunger. If beggars come from Zeus, if the gods are offended by needless brutality, may Antinous be struck dead before he marries!
(Antinous rises quickly, reaches for his sword, in its scabbard. Telemachus starts up, grabs his spear, but holds his tongue and does nothing as he hears cries offstage of Wait! Hold! Take care! And as he watches Amphinomus stop Antinous.)
AMPHINOMUS
Antinous! Give a thought! Swordplay with a beggar? It's beneath you! Unseemly for our feast! And recall, the gods sometimes come in disguise, to test us. Let the beggar be warned. Keep his distance from you. If Telemachus shows courtesy to him, so much the worse for the boy, squandering his friendship and spurning us.
(Antinous accepts this silently. Exit Eurymachus. Eurycleia-Bard joins Penelope, who has been watching and listening intently.)
PENELOPE
Oh Eurycleia, if only Zeus would hit Antinous, with a lightning bolt!
EURYCLEIA - Bard
Only him? If Zeus answered our prayers, they would all be dead.
PENELOPE
Yes, Eurycleia, they eat us alive, body and soul, with their endless demands and threats on our lives, but Antinous is the worst by far, a monster. Look. This poor beggar shows up, hurting no one, asking only for food to keep alive. Everyone else gave him something, but Antinous picked up a stool and hit the poor man on his shoulder!
(Penelope motions to Eumaeus-Female18 to come, and he enters her rooms.)
PENELOPE
Eumaeus, did you see how they treated that beggar? Tell him to come here. I want to hear if he has news of Odysseus.
EUMAEUS - Female 18
My Lady, he came here straight from staying with me for three nights. He told stories that charmed my heart as rarely I have ever felt, like listening to a great minstrel. If he were consuming my own property, I would have him stay a month, to revel in the beauty of his tales. He says he hosted Odysseus long ago, and heard just recently that Odysseus is alive, near at hand, coming with a treasure of great wealth.
PENELOPE
Go. Bring him here. I shall test him. Would that we had a champion like Odysseus to protect us from this pack of wolves. Oh, if Odysseus ever came, he and his son would avenge the wrongs these men have committed here.
(Penelope raised her voice with the last sentence. Telemachus sneezes very loudly. Penelope is seized with laughter.)
Did you hear that tremendous sneeze from Telemachus? Just after I spoke so loudly about driving out the suitors? Pray the gods fulfill our wish! Kill the suitors, no one escapes. Go. Bring the stranger here. Go.
(Eumaeus-Female18 goes, talks briefly (silently) with Beggar-Male50, comes back.)
Where is he? Why didn't he come?! A shy beggar?
EUMAEUS - Female 18
No my Lady, he sees how it could be. The suitors would be outraged seeing him—a beggar—enter your chambers, when they cannot. They might kill him on the spot. Wait, he says, until they leave. He will come, after dark.
PENELOPE
He's right. A thoughtful fellow. The suitors are cowards, by themselves, but in a crowd they are oh so brave. They have gone wild so many times, and no one has stopped them. They could easily kill him, and laugh—or boast—about it later, as if they had done something great. So go. Tell him: Be in the great hall after dark. I will come then to question him.
(Eumaeus-Female18 does so and then exits. Penelope strains forward, watching the action in the great room, like a cat. Male7-Irus enters, tries to move Beggar-Male50 off his seat by the door sill. Beggar-Male50 resists.)
ANTINOUS
Hey everyone! Here's some fun. Our old young beggar Irus wants to take the spot from our new old beggar, Old Droopy Rags. Let them fight it out for the door prize, regular boxing style. The loser must go and beg elsewhere (if that wretched old beggar can walk after Irus finishes with him).
(Shouts of agreement. Antinous marks off a space on the floor. Beggar-Male50 looks resistant, then reluctantly complies. In preparation for getting into the ring, he strips to the waist, then wraps his rags around his thighs.)
AMPHINOMUS
The build that beggar has under his rags! Neck, shoulders, chest, arms—Irus is in for a bloody beating, I'm sure!
(The fighters take their places. Antinous signals to start. In the first punch, Beggar-Male50 knocks out Male7-Irus on the spot, then drags the body offstage (or a woozy Irus crawls off stage), and the beggar returns to his seat by the door.)
Good luck to you old sir. Making you fight like that was unkind. Here is some bread for your bag, and wine to drink. May you see better times ahead.
BEGGAR - Male 50
Amphinomus, you seem to be a man of superior understanding and manners, like your father, I've heard, Nisus of Dulichium, a good man, they say. Therefore, let me warn you.
When you are young, you think you will live forever, but you are never more than just one second away from the most awful death or disaster. Misery can strike you just like that. Best to keep the good will of gods and community, treat people with respect and courtesy. They will help you in your time of need. Or else, you may find not only neglect but open enmity to a man who shows no civic worth.
Here you young men risk your lives eating up another man's estate, dishonoring his wife, threatening anyone who interferes. That man will return, I have heard, and soon. Get away before he arrives, for he will accept no payment for all this except in blood.
AMPHINOMUS
This is strange talk for an old beggar, provoking suitors for no apparent reason, warning me of death to come, speaking knowingly about my father. Did you know my father? And the build you have under your rags! There is more to you than meets the eye. What is it about you?
(Amphinomus frowns, shakes head in alarm, goes to his seat, and sends repeated, piercing looks at Beggar-Male50. Penelope, watching all this, straining to hear the beggar talk with Amphinomus, becomes alarmed at Amphinomus's actions. Reenter Melantho-Female18 in Penelope's quarters. Reenter Eurymachus in great room.)
PENELOPE
(with a wry smile, an embarassed laugh)
Eurycleia, I have the strangest feeling. I would like to enter the great hall and show myself to the suitors, yet I hate those men like the plague that they are. Still, I will have to marry one of them, or else see my son's estate destroyed before he can inherit it, or see him killed before then. So I have to go among them and begin to make my choice, the best man among them, perhaps I'll even like him. I might then advise Telemachus too.
EURYCLEIA - Bard
I am so sorry for you, mistress, it's a sad day, but you must do it. Melantho, bring me our lady's formal robe and veil
.(Melantho-Female18 excitedly jumps to give Eurycleia-Bard the robe and veil, who gives them to Penelope, then Melantho and Eurycleia soon exit. Penelope puts on her veil and robe, leaves her chambers, enters the great room, and goes to Telemachus, who sits with his back to a wall. She is so positioned that in looking at Telemachus, she also is looking directly towards Beggar-Male50, by the doorsill. The buzz, of a large crowd talking, grows. Then it quiets down.)
AMPHINOMUS
Look at her. I can't take my eyes off her. Such poise. Such bearing. A goddess among us. Ouuu...Down, boy, down.
(All of Amphinomus’s thoughts about the beggar have been forgotten. Eurymachus looks excited but self-controlled. Antinous is also eager, but looks about in disgust. )
BARD
To a man the suitors tremble with excitement on seeing the great queen walk among them.
Here's Agelaus: "By god, she is beautiful! Her dignity, her regal carriage! I swear I'll win and bed her!"
And Ctesippus: "You! She likes me best! I'll take her to bed."
Look at Leocritus.
(Bard goes bug eyed and ostentatiously covers the groin.)
Leiodes is aghast: "By Zeus, look at them, like dogs in heat, as if they had a chance. She's too refined. She likes that I hold myself off from the rest. I'll lie beside her before any of them!"
(Lights dim on everyone but Penelope and Telemachus. While the other suitors remain agog and keep their distance, Eurymachus begins to regain his composure and starts to edge closer, trying to listen in, but he remains on the edge of the brighter lit area.)
PENELOPE
Telemachus, I thought I raised you to be better than this. How could you let them abuse the stranger like that?
TELEMACHUS
I am as displeased as you are, Mother, but I lack the power, alone, to force them to behave better.
Mother, What is wrong with these men? I'm old enough to understand the base meaning of their actions, but, no offense, you are middle aged, and they appear to be genuinely excited by you, I'm embarrassed to say, but their behavior compels me to ask.
PENELOPE
Cowards and weaklings, Telemachus, cowards and....Attend to me carefully, Telemachus, to protect yourself against them.
These men are well-dressed barbarians. They put on civilized clothes to fool gentle folk, but they do not respect the limits of civilized behavior, such as when family members who love each other fight but pull back at the brink. These men respect only force and know only to bully, grab, and hurt, while pretending civility and worldly prowess.
One way or another, they got the means to live and indulge themselves without working at their livings. They never acquired the rigorous discipline of productive work, never developed inner virtues and outward abilities to improve themselves and make a better world. Devoid of these strengths, they are weak, depraved cowards. They are competing here in what they know best, to be the most depraved.
You, however, I taught to look clearly at the world, insist your thoughts conform to what you see, improve yourself relentlessly with what you know to be true, and be good to good people, who will multiply your ability. From this flows a power, of personal magnetism, that affects everyone. In me, the suitors get a surge of power that excites them. In you, reverse the effect to weaken their efforts to kill you.
You already look stronger than most of them. Assert your strength by body and word to feed their cowardice. Carry yourself with erect posture, easy motion, and a cool eye; this, grace, radiates power. If someone presses you, address him individually, to make him feel isolated from the crowd, and be as aggressive as you can to make him back down, but don't initiate any fights, lest they feel free to gang up on you. Back away from fighting with groups of them. Avoid getting surrounded or caught in dark corners.
And do what you can, within your limits, to protect the stranger. From what I saw of his build when he stripped to fight that tramp Irus, he looks stronger than anyone here, but a cowardly cheap shot could still hurt him.
(Lights return to normal. End of privacy)
EURYMACHUS
Penelope, great queen, how fortunate for us that all Achaean men don't see you now! They would forget their homes, abandon their duties, and rush here just to get this view of your ravishing beauty.
PENELOPE
Eurymachus, whatever face and figure I had, when I was young and carefree, are long gone or altered greatly since my husband, of dearest memory, went off to fight in that madness at Troy. He foresaw the chance he would not return, and he gave me this directive: Take care of our house, raise Telemachus, and tend to his parents, until our son can grow a beard, then marry as I choose and go to live in my new husband's home.
Now the time has come, painful as it is, to give up this home, my son, and the blessed memory of dear Odysseus. Painful, too, in how you abuse me! It is the custom in courting a woman of wealth and royal lineage to live off your own property, and feast the woman's family and friends—using your own herds. Custom demands too that you make lavish gifts to the woman; it's wise practice too, when competing with so many others. Do you really expect me to pick a man who lives off me even before we are married?
(Beggar-Male50 laughs silently.)
ANTINOUS
Wise Queen, daughter of Icarius, accept our gifts; courtesy demands it. But we are staying right here until you choose the best man among us and marry him.
End of Act II Scene 3
Act II Scene 4
Intercourse, Another Exposure, and Cover Stories
(Night in the great hall, a few torches burning. Beggar-Male50 and Telemachus are alone.)
BEGGAR - Male 50
All this armor on the walls. Remove it to the storeroom. If anyone asks, say it had grown sooty from the fire's smoke, and you were cleaning it. Add too that when a drunken quarrel breaks out, best not to have weapons at hand that might draw blood.
(Fade out, fade in, or show them doing it. The walls of the great room are now clean of arms. Beggar-Male50 waits on the edge of the room. Enter Penelope (without veil), Melantho-Female18, and Eurycleia-Bard from other side. Penelope sits down on a heavy fleece on a bench by the fireplace.)
MELANTHO - Female 18
Old man, why are you here, lurking about? After a woman, maybe? Get out, or I'll give you the warm embrace of a torch instead.
PENELOPE
Cruel, brazen slut! I raised you as my own child, but you sleep with Eurymachus, spy for him! You will pay with your life if he doesn’t prevail! And here, you tried to drive out this poor man, though you yourself heard me ask him to come, to learn if he has news of Odysseus. Eurycleia, give this man a seat, with soft fleece to comfort him, while we talk.
(Beggar-Male50 sits down opposite Penelope.)
PENELOPE
Stranger, it is fitting and customary that I ask you, in return for good treatment, that you tell me your name, from whence you came, your town and parents.
BEGGAR - Male 50
Noble queen, no one in the world could fault you, besieged as you are. Your fame rings to high heaven, like a just and wise king whose people prosper under his benign rule, and they repay him with their love. But, gracious lady, my life is pain. Do not ask me to tell it all. I do not wish to wallow in tears before you.
PENELOPE
Old gentleman, I have lost the bloom of youth, the looks I had, since Odysseus went off to Troy. I am worn too by worry for him, and for our son, in the daily grind of fending off the suitors. I used tricks to delay the marriage I dread. I wove a shroud for Laertes by day, unwove it by night, for nearly four years, until a maid betrayed me.
I am all exhausted now, used up, unable to invent any more, cannot delay the day I dread. My son longs to inherit, my parents pressure me to remarry. You are not the only one in pain. In fairness, tell me yours.
BEGGAR - Male 50
Yes, my lady. To begin, I am Aethon, son of Deucalion, grandson of King Minos of Crete. Odysseus stayed with me for twelve days, when he came to port in Cnossus en route to Troy.
(Penelope weeps. During the following: the actors move passionately with body, arms, eyes and head towards each other, as if to caress, make love, but then pull back—just enough to communicate the intent, as if they are about to embrace: A short motion forward, first of the head, then a bending of the shoulders perhaps, followed a bit by a lean of the torso, then the arms, in a flowing pattern, as if more is to come, then the motion flows back to place, in reverse, the head first to pull away—very much a dancer's motion. They repeatedly move to be on the verge of real contact, then pull back, in fluid motions, nothing sudden. Melantho-Female18 becomes acutely interested in the passion being expended.)
PENELOPE
Can you prove this, friend? Describe what Odysseus wore, how he looked, and who was with him.
BEGGAR - Male 50
(Begins to woo and make love to his wife all over again after twenty years apart.)
My lady, it's been nearly twenty years, but, let me see. He wore a purple cloak, of double fleece, secured by a gold brooch, with two fastenings for the pin. On the face of the brooch was depicted a dog holding a spotted fawn in its paws, both dog and fawn looking so lifelike that everyone who saw it was entranced, it being all in gold. Beneath the cloak Odysseus wore a skin-tight tunic of shiny, fine fabric, at which the women who saw it marveled. Though I must add, I don't know if he got these clothes from home or as a gift from a friend along the way. And he kept a herald close by him, Eurybates, by name. This man was a bit older, dark-skinned, with very curly hair, and round shoulders. Odysseus honored him above the rest of his company, for being subtle in thought, like the captain.
PENELOPE
(Weeps, then speaks.)
Earlier I pitied you, but these details of my lord, truly told, move me more deeply. From now on you shall be a welcome and honored guest. I made that cloak and tunic with my own hands. I put them on him myself. And I pinned on that golden brooch to secure the cloak As for Eurybates, that was so much like Odysseus, to prize high character and ability within a person. All are gone now, never to return.
BEGGAR - Male 50
Dear Lady, do not despair. Just before coming here, I heard that your husband is alive, and close, coming home with a huge fortune. I got this from Pheidon, king of the Thesprotians, who was hosting him, but Odysseus had gone to Dodona, to consult the oak tree there, for the will of Zeus, to return in secret or openly. So do not despair. Take heed. As Zeus is my witness, Odysseus shall come soon, between the time that this moon wanes and the next moon begins.
(Melantho-Female18 snaps to attention. Penelope covertly notices her interest.)
PENELOPE
Dear old gentleman, that is my heart's dream, to hold him in my arms again, for real and for well, but my head knows that it cannot be. It is only a dream. Odysseus will not return,
(Melantho shakes her head, smirking, silently saying "no" in agreement.)
and you will not be treated as you deserve, for he was ever generous to worthy guests. Bad manners rule this house now, and bad manners ruin it, but this I can do. My maids can wash your feet, give you a comfortable bed, warm and soft with fleece and blankets, and anoint your skin with oil to soothe the roughness.
BEGGAR - Male 50
Gracious lady, I am long used to sleeping without such comforts as rugs and fleeces and wish to stay that way. As for a bath from young maidens, no, I could not bear that, but my feet could be washed, if you have someone old and respectable who knows the sufferings of this world.
PENELOPE
(Sweet, passionate, tender; to break your heart)
Sweet guest, no one has ever come here who has touched me so deeply...so modest...so sensible, so gentle. Here, there is just such a woman that you request. She nursed Odysseus in infancy, shared all the troubles we have endured since he went to war.
Eurycleia, come, bathe the feet of your master's contemporary, for just so I imagine Odysseus to be, if he is alive, wandering somewhere, without house and home, all worn and aged by misery.
(As Penelope said this, she looked covertly at Melantho-Female18, who is at first taken aback, then "a light goes on," smirks, shakes her head, and loses interest, as if saying to herself "yes, they would be alike, the old lady is going batty-sentimental, pouring out this feeling on a dirty old beggar, when Odysseus is not coming back.")
EURYCLEIA - Bard
(Weeps, then talks.)
Odysseus, my child! I can do nothing for you! But I have to say, stranger, I am shaken by looking at you. You resemble Odysseus so much in figure, voice, and feet.
BEGGAR - Male 50
Honorable nurse of Odysseus, people tell me that, everywhere I go among people who knew him, though I cannot confirm it, being unable to look at myself.
(Eurycleia-Bard gets a bucket of water, a wash cloth, and a basin. Beggar-Male50 puts his foot in the basin. She gets the cloth wet, grips and begins to wash his thigh, notices a scar (on the inside of the leg on the side hidden to Melantho-Female18), traces the scar, then drops the leg in the basin, making a loud clang. The beggar quickly turns away, in shock, and covers his leg. Penelope covertly eyes this scene, then immediately but softly turns away as the basin clangs, seemingly disinterested. Melantho looks at it, in contempt at the old woman’s seeming clumsiness, and without revelation.)
EURYCLEIA - Bard
(low voice.)
My dear child, I did not know, until I felt the scar on your thigh with my own hands. You are Odysseus!
(Eurycleia-Bard turns to look to Penelope, and Melantho-Female18 follows Eurycleia's look to Penelope too, but Penelope is looking away, seemingly lost in thought. Watching Penelope and following her own thoughts, Melantho misses: Male 50-Odysseus grabs Eurycleia's neck and pulls her near.)
ODYSSEUS
Would you destroy me? Keep quiet. If you tell anyone, and if God grants that I kill the suitors, I'll kill you along with the other women who betrayed us.
EURYCLEIA - Bard
Control yourself. I am yours! I will be as silent as the dead.
(Eurycleia-Bard terminates the washing. Beggar-Male50 drags his bench to the fire for warmth. Melantho-Female18 regains interest when the following turns to remarriage.)
PENELOPE
Stranger, I would have your thoughts on another matter. I am torn by two miserable choices. Do I hold on here to protect my son and estate, and honor the memory of my great husband, as public opinion demands? Or should I pick a suitor most to my liking and move away? A mother should not leave a young son, but now he is a man, eager to take possession of his rightful inheritance, before the suitors eat it all.
Listen to a dream I had. Perhaps you can interpret it. Twenty fat geese eat my grain from a trough outside my home. They are so handsome they make me thrill with pride.
(Penelope covertly looks to see how Melantho-Female18 is taking this. Melantho smiles to herself wryly, cynically, nods, and loses some interest: the old lady is playing the same old game: keeping the suitors hanging around to feed her vanity.)
When all of a sudden a great eagle swoops down from I don't know where and kills them—grabs them in its claws and wrings their necks—then flies away, leaving the dead bodies strewn about. And I wail so loudly at this, in my dream, that women of the community come to comfort me, because the eagle has killed my handsome geese.
(Penelope covertly looks again at Melantho-Female18. Melantho smiles the knowing, cynical look again, and loses more interest.)
Then just as suddenly the eagle returns, and talks to me in a voice just like a man's. Rejoice, daughter of Icarius, he says, this is an omen of things to come. The geese are your suitors, I am your husband, come back to you, and I will slay the men who torment you. But then I awoke. There was no eagle. The geese still fed at my house.
(During the above, Melantho-Female18 becomes alarmed. Penelope says the last sentence shaking her head side to side, as in "No, the suitors cannot be killed." Melantho is calmed.)
BEGGAR - Male 50
Dear Lady, how can you doubt the dream? Has not Odysseus himself foretold the suitors' fate? Death to them all.
(Beggar-Male50's sharp talk of killing the suitors reawakens Melantho-Female18's alarm. Penelope shakes head side to side again.)
PENELOPE
No, dear man. Not for nothing do we say, "if only dreams came true." IF. Fatal word!
As much as my son and I would wish it, it cannot happen. Odysseus will not return, or he will be killed if he does return, alone, as he must be, against 108 suitors, in their prime. Therefore, I have an announcement to make. Tomorrow I will pick a husband. Unspeakably painful, it must be done.
(In the following, Melantho-Female18 listens eagerly, then becomes thrilled and excited.)
This is how it shall pass. When Odysseus was with us, he would line up twelve ax heads in a row, at regular intervals, then step back, and shoot an arrow through them. The great bow that Odysseus used for this feat is still in our storeroom, left behind, when he went off to Troy, as a memorial to a slain, dear friend. Now, let the suitors try to do it. He who strings the bow most easily and sends the arrow through the ax heads will become my husband. Then I will leave this beautiful home forever. Good bye, my love, but I will remember you always. For as long as I live, you will live, if only in my dreams.
(In the above, Penelope speaks directly to the beggar, but with exquisite emotion in the last three sentences: Speaking seemingly about her absent husband (to mislead Melantho), she in actuality is saying a most painful and loving goodbye to him, for despite the great weapon she is—resolutely—moving to put into his hands, she fully expects him to die tomorrow; to die, and maybe their son too, in the fight with the suitors that he has just declared he shall wage.)
BEGGAR - Male 50
Noble wife of great Odysseus. Let the contest begin exactly as you say. Odysseus will arrive before they can string that bow and shoot through the iron!
End of Scene 4
End of Act II
For Act III, click here.