Read the passage from The Odyssey - Penelope. Ruses serve my turn to draw the time out—first a close-grained web I had the happy
thought to set up weaving on my big loom in the hall. I said, that day: 'Young men—my suitors, now my lord is dead let me finish my weaving before I marry, or else my thread will have been spun in vain. It is a shroud I weave for Lord Laertes when cold Death comes to lay him on his bier. The country wives would hold me in dishonor if he, with all his fortune, lay unshrouded.' I reached their hearts that way, and they agreed. So every day I wove on the great loom, but every night by torchlight I unwove it; and so for three years I deceived the Akhaians. Which line from the passage best shows that Penelope is clever?
'I wove diligently on the immense loom each day, yet every night, by the light of a torch, I unraveled my work; thus, for three years, I managed to mislead the Akhaians.'
I wove diligently on the immense loom each day, yet every night, by the light of a torch, I unraveled my work; thus, for three years, I managed to mislead the Akhaians.
Explanation:
This notable excerpt from the Odyssey illustrates Penelope's intelligence and loyalty. In her desire to avoid remarriage while hoping for Odysseus's return, she devised this clever tactic to delay the inevitable decision of choosing one of her suitors. This maneuver, revealed upon Odysseus's return, is crucial in proving her fidelity.
