Penelope:
The trait of endurance that marks Odysseus is mirrored in his wife Penelope, who is unwilling either to reject or to accept marriage. The former choice would endanger her son's life and property, while the latter would end her hope of reunion with her husband. (look at sig) It is for this loyalty to her husband's memory that she is praised in comparison to Clytemnestra's infidelity. Like her husband, Penelope is also seen as clever. She is able to trick the suitors and delay a decision of marriage by carefully knitting Laertes' shroud by day and removing the stitches at night. Since the shroud is never finished, she is able to postpone a decision about matrimony.
Penelope does not allow herself to sink into black despair at the thought of Odysseus' misfortune. She rises from her inertia when the time comes for action and decision. She appears before the suitors and announces that she will marry the one who can string Odysseus' bow and send the arrow through the twelve axes. Her primary purpose is to try and get rid of the suitors and to buy time, for she knows that none of them can pass the test.
While her suffering does chasten her out of superficial optimism, it does not, however, sink her into an incapacitating melancholy. Though she doubts the beggar's prediction about Odysseus' homecoming, she acts upon it, declaring her intention of marrying the man who can string Odysseus' bow. This expresses her inspired compromise between doubt and hope, between her memory of Odysseus' old command and her faith in today's signs. Her thoughts and dreams each night oscillate between duty and desire, and she neglects neither.
Penelope is not just heroic, beautiful, chaste, and commanding; she is also human and sometimes filled with doubt. She loves her son and is anxious for his safety. It is for his sake, in fact, that she even thinks of remarrying. She is also doubtful, especially about Odysseus' return. Even after he reveals himself to her, Penelope wants proof, which he provides in knowing about the olive tree bed.
In characterizing Penelope, Homer gives up his normal device of describing characters through their setting. As with Achilles, Homer penetrates her mind. The mystery of her girl-like laughs, her impulsive appearances before the suitors, her beautifying sleep, and her wish to die speak of her complete inwardness, which is seen even through the last scene. In this respect, she offers a striking contrast to Odysseus, whose responses are conveyed through his setting and through what he sees around him. Homer also paints Penelope at a higher level than most of his female characters, who are described as shallow and unfaithful.
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There are many similarities between her and Liz but at the same time many differences. But I Will agree whole heartedly with one thing: Elizabeth is Jack's equal in wit and trickery etc. very much as Penelope is Odysseus's equal in the odyssey
also the whole Son/will thing lol..the whole marriage being held off thing, again look at the quote in my sig lol
Jack is Liz's true love..and I'm not gonna give up on that lol
IMO the only reason she wants to marry will is to SAVE him.