From http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Pa-Pr/Penelope.html
The wife of the hero Odysseus in Greek mythology, Penelope was celebrated for her faithfulness, patience, and feminine virtue. For the 20 years that her husband was away during and after the Trojan War, Penelope remained true to him and helped prevent his kingdom from falling into other hands.
Penelope's parents were Prince Icarius of Sparta and the nymph Periboea. Periboea hid her infant daughter as soon as she was born, knowing that Icarius had wanted a son. As soon as Icarius discovered the baby girl, he threw her into the sea to drown. However, a family of ducks rescued her. Seeing this as an omen, Icarius named the child Penelope (after the Greek word for "duck") and raised her as his favorite child.
When Penelope reached womanhood, Odysseus asked for her hand in marriage. Although reluctant to part with his daughter, Icarius agreed, and Penelope went with her new husband to his home on the island of Ithaca. Penelope and Odysseus were deeply in love, so it was with great sorrow that Odysseus later left her and their infant son, Telemachus, to fight in the Trojan War.
Read more: Penelope - Myth Encyclopedia - mythology, Greek, war, hero, trojan http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Pa-Pr/Penelope.html#ixzz1BjvmQyM2
The wife of the hero Odysseus in Greek mythology, Penelope was celebrated for her faithfulness, patience, and feminine virtue. For the 20 years that her husband was away during and after the Trojan War, Penelope remained true to him and helped prevent his kingdom from falling into other hands.
Penelope's parents were Prince Icarius of Sparta and the nymph Periboea. Periboea hid her infant daughter as soon as she was born, knowing that Icarius had wanted a son. As soon as Icarius discovered the baby girl, he threw her into the sea to drown. However, a family of ducks rescued her. Seeing this as an omen, Icarius named the child Penelope (after the Greek word for "duck") and raised her as his favorite child.
When Penelope reached womanhood, Odysseus asked for her hand in marriage. Although reluctant to part with his daughter, Icarius agreed, and Penelope went with her new husband to his home on the island of Ithaca. Penelope and Odysseus were deeply in love, so it was with great sorrow that Odysseus later left her and their infant son, Telemachus, to fight in the Trojan War.
The Trojan War lasted ten years, and it took Odysseus another ten years to get home to Ithaca. During that time, Penelope received the attentions of many suitors. For a while, she put them off by saying that she would consider marriage only after she finished weaving a shroud for her father-in-law, Laertes, who was grieving over Odysseus's absence. Each day Penelope would sit weaving the cloth, but at night she would secretly unravel her work. After three years, a servant revealed Penelope's secret, and she had to finish the shroud.
Read more: Penelope - Myth Encyclopedia - mythology, Greek, war, hero, trojan http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Pa-Pr/Penelope.html#ixzz1BjvmQyM2
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ReplyDeleteIn Homer’s The Odyssey, Penelope embodies the ideal model of Greek femininity. She is a faithful wife (perhaps the most faithful in Western literature), a mother to Telemachus, and a seductress. When Telemachus understands her behavior as a possible effort to lead on the suitors, he exerts his masculine presence and his role as head of the house (in his father’s absence):
ReplyDelete“Ulysses is not the only man who never came back from Troy, but many another went down as well as he. Go, then, within the house and busy yourself with your daily duties, your loom, your distaff, and the ordering of your servants; for speech is man's matter, and mine above all others- for it is I who am master here” (Book 1).
If we think of Telemachus’s words (“speech is man’s matter”) to his mother in the context of Like Water for Chocolate, how may we understand Tita’s relationship to cooking? Does cooking become Tita’s voice? How?
It's interesting how all different cultures see the relationship between love and sex.
ReplyDeleteI came across this little blurb about the Trobiand people, of the Trobiand Island near New Guinea. I read that it was thought to be disgraceful to eat with woman (if you are a man) unless you are married, and then looked more into it, and I found a neat Wikipedia article about it! It reads:
In the Trobriand Islands, there is no traditional marriage ceremony. A young woman stays in her lover's house instead of leaving it before sunrise. The man and woman sit together in the morning and wait for the bride's mother to bring them cooked yams.[2] The married couple eat together for about a year, and then go back to eating separately. Once the man and woman eat together, the marriage is officially recognized.[2]
When a Trobriand couple wants to marry, they show that desire by sleeping together on a regular basis, spending time together in public, and staying with each other for long periods of time. The girl's parents approve of the couple when a girl accepts a gift from a boy. After that, the girl moves to the boy's house, eats her meals there, and accompanies her husband all day. Then word goes out that the boy and girl are married.[5]
If after one year, if a woman is unhappy with her husband, she may divorce him. A married couple may also get divorced if the husband chooses another woman. The man may try to go back with the woman he left by giving her family yams and other gifts, but it is ultimately up to the woman if she wants to be with that man.
In a way Mama Elena is the "man of the house" because she is the head of the household and very dominant. She will not allow Tita to talk back or voice her own opinions on anything which is similar to the quotation which basically says that what men say is important and the female voice is worthless. Tita's voice is considered worthless to her mother so she cooks to express herself. The food Tita makes conveys her sorrow, lust, joy, and other emotions more than her words probably would be able to because of the profound effect the food has on the eater. It is also notable that when Tita wishes not to speak or goes nuts and becomes silent that she can't/won't cook as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Pauline said regarding how Tita is able to express herself through her cooking. I think it's ironic that Mama Elena is a woman yet she is able to have such power over speech and what goes on in the household. I also feel that it's ironic because although Pedro is a man, he is unable to speak what he truly feels as well despite the fact that "speech is a man's matter." Tita is lucky because unlike Pedro and other people under Mama Elena's reign, she has been able to find a source of expression for herself. Although she does not intend for it to be powerful, it is because that is one of her greatest passions in life. I think people in general are allowed to express their feelings and emotions in hobbies and actives that they have a passion for and Tita's is simply through cooking.
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