Penelope Unraveling Her Web, Joseph Wright of Derby, 1783-1784

Penelope Unraveling her Web
Mother Liberty and the Seducer
Curated by Alex McDonald

Curator's Note: The Mother Liberty and Seducer story arc has come to a close. I now leave you with two thematically linked stories.

Rumors circulate of Odysseus' death at sea. His absence creates a void in his family, which Joseph Wright of Derby’s Penelope Unraveling her Web depicts. Penelope, Odysseus’ wife, has become the object of all men’s obsessions. They circle her like vultures waiting to sink teeth into a good piece of meat.

What can she do?

Her husband has been gone for years and every man she meets looks her up and down.

What can she do?

Society comes crashing down on her. A woman with a child can’t be single forever.

What can she do?

She weaves. Penelope knows Odysseus lives. No one can convince her differently. So she tells her suitors, admirers, and stalkers once she has finished a veil for her father-in-law, she will pick her new husband.

The men howl with glee. But unbeknownst to them, Penelope will never finish the veil. The unraveling of her web occurs every night while no men watch. The circling wolves are kept at bay.

So now she sits by her slumbering son, waiting for Odysseus. Penelope keeps guard over her family, like the faithful dog besides her. Odysseus’ stone form watches over his wife and son as well, trying to fill the gap left in Penelope’s heart.