From devotion to disillusionment: the changing face of Penelope from Homer to Buero to Miras

This paper examines the adaptation of the classical figure of Penelope in two twentieth-century Spanish dramas: Antonio Buero Vallejo’s La tejedora de sueños (1952) and Domingo Miras’ Penélope (1971). Unlike Homer’s epic, the Penelope of these modern tragedies regrets the return of her husband, who at this point in time lost his heroic status. Buero’s and Miras’ works are not unique in their treatment of this theme, but they are among the first, at least in Spain, to consider the drama from Penelope’s perspective, while remaining faithful to the essential plot and setting of Homer’s Odyssey. Miras goes further than Buero in reducing his heroine to a (literally) vegetative state at the conclusion of the drama while Buero’s Penelope will be lauded for her constancy, though, paradoxically, she dreams of her love for Anfino, not for her husband, Ulysses. Homer’s Penelope tirelessly awaits the return of her husband over the course of a twenty-year period; yet, such devotion is absent from all modern interpretations of this myth. Modern critics of these works justify such an altered characterization of Penelope as a function of the brutish nature of the bellicose Ulysses, whereas Homer’s Penelope relishes his bloody (and by extent, combative) appearance. Moreover, Odysseus is classified as a new hero, distinct from Achilles and Ajax, for example, both earlier warriors. He is strategically armed, and such tactical know-how, in addition to the advocacy of, and counsel from, Athena, ensure his survival. The modern incarnations of Penelope, however diverse, share several notable constants: sustained dreams of romantic and filial love; diminished devotion to gods and spouses; and manifest disillusionment with both marriage and with the glory borne of warfare.