Exploring Grief And Uncertainty: A Comparative Analysis Of Mrs. Dalloway, The Odyssey, And The Penelopiad.

1E xplo rin gG rie fa n dU ncerta in tyHomer sOdysseywaswrittenthousandsofyearsago,butmanythemeswithintheepicpoemaresorelatablethattheystillareinmorecontemporaryliterature.OneofthethemesthatresonatesthroughoutTheOdysseyisgrief.Odysseus,hiswifePenelope,andtheirsonT elemachusdealwithgriefastheirfamilyisseparatedforovertenyears,withadeepuncertaintyastowhethertheywilleverreunite.However ,whilethethemeofgriefisthroughouttheOdyssey,weseeverydif ferenttypesofgriefbylookingatothertexts.Mar garetAtwood sThePenelopiadfollowsPenelopefromTheOdysseybutgivesusmoreinsightintoPenelope sheadandexploresherdeeplypersonalgriefatherhusband sdisappearanceanduncertaintyforherfutureandherson'sfuture.V irginiaW oolf sMrs.DallowaygivesusClarissa,aladydealingwiththesuddennewsofasuicide.WhileClarissadoesn tknowthemanwhodied,sheisfilledwithasenseofgriefatthepast,athowherlivesandthelivesofmanypeoplesheknowshavenotbeenfulfilledinthewaystheyhadthoughttheywouldbe.ManycharactersintheOdysseyrepresentdif ferentformsofgrief.Throughoutthefirsthalfoftheepicpoem(Books1-15),themaincharactertoexhibitthisthemeisPenelope,thewifeofOdysseus,grievingfortheuncertaintyofherhusband sfate.Penelopealsogrievesforherfuture,assheisuncertainhowlongshecanholdbacktheintrusivesuitors.Ofcourse,thethemesofgriefanduncertaintyplayoutinothercharacters,suchasT elemachus,sonofOdysseus,whohastodealwiththesuitorsandgrapplewithhispositioninthehouseholdwithouthisfather .MembersofOdysseuscrewalsoexperiencegriefandfrustrationattheirinabilitytogethome.2Andofcourse,Odysseushimselffeelsadeepsenseofgrieffornotbeingabletobethereforhisfamily ,asseenbyhisstatement,Myheartisfullofsorrow ,butmystomachisalwaystellingmetoeatanddrink'(W ilson,VII,lines219-220).Atwood sThePenelopiadexploresPenelope sgriefinawaythemorenarrativestyleofTheOdysseycouldnot.Penelopelooksprettydif ferentfromherdepictioninTheOdyssey.PenelopeisaveryrestrictedcharacterinTheOdyssey,bothinactionanddialogue.ThePenelopiadgivesusmoreofaninsidelookintothegenuinegriefshemusthavefacedatthelossofherhusbandandtheuncertaintysurroundinghiswhereabouts.ThetextfocusesonPenelope sgriefforherfuturebutherdeterminationnottomarryasuitorandtoprolongtheprocessaslongaspossible.WhilePenelope sgriefcentersaroundherfuture,othertypesofgriefrelyonthepast.InMrs.Dalloway,charactersalsodealwithgriefindif ferentways.Firstofall,Septimus,ayoungwarveteran,dealswiththegriefsurroundinghismentalproblemsafterthewar ,andwithoutreasonablecare,hecommitssuicide.ClarissaDallowaydealswiththegriefofhisdeatheventhoughshedidn tknowhim.AsdoesPenelope,Clarissaalsodealswithgeneralgriefaboutherlife,butitisslightlydif ferent.WhilePenelopegrievesforheruncertainfuture,Clarissahasgriefforthepast.Clarissastrugglestogetthroughtheday ,butnotbecausesheisasunsureofthefutureasPenelope.Clarissaconstantlyremindsherselfaboutdeath'sinevitability ,theday-longstory .ClarissarepeatsalinefromShakespeare sCymbelinethr oughoutthestory:Fearnomoretheheatothesun.ThisisanindicatorofClarissa sfearofdeathasshehastorepeatthislineagainandagainforcomfort.Clarissamentionsthislineatdif ferentmomentsthroughoutthebook,likewhenshehearsRichardhavinglunchwithLadyBruton(W oolf,p.30)orwhenshe3learnsofSeptimussuicide(W oolf,p.186).Whyisshementioningtheexactquoteindif ferentsituations,especiallywhenthosesituationscarrysignificantlydif ferentemotionalweight?Clarissausesthisquotetodealwiththeterrorthatlivingdaybydaybringstoher ,aformofself-comfort.Clarissafearswhatwillcomebutstillaf firmslifebygoingaboutherday-to-dayactivities.HearingofSeptimussuicide,ClarissacomestotermswithhowunfulfillinglifeisandempathizeswithSeptimus.WhilePenelopeisgrievingpersonallyforherhusbandandheruncertainfuture,ClarissagrievesfortheunfortunatepastsheandtheothercharactersinMrs.Dallowaygotthroughbecausetheycannotchangecoursenow .ShefeelsresponsibleforcharacterslikeSeptimus.WhilePenelopeandClarissaaredealingwithverydif ferentkindsofgrief,thereisasimilarwaythattheybothdealwithgrief:thesuppressionoftheirfeelingsofgrieffromothercharactersinthetexts.Firstofall,inTheOdysseyandThePenelopiad,PenelopehastosuppressandhidehergriefatOdysseus sdisappearancetodealwiththepersistentsuitors.Lateron,sheevenhastosuppressaspectsofhergrieffromOdysseushimself,suchasduringtheslaughterofthemaidsbyOdysseus.InThePenelopiad,Penelopespeaksofadreamthatshehasregardingherflockoflovelywhitegeese,geeseofwhich[she]wasveryfond(Atwood,2006,p.139).SpeakingtoadisguisedOdysseus,Penelopementionsthattheslaughterofthesegeesecausedhergreatsorrow .Odysseus,however ,interpretedthisdreamtomeanthesuitors,notthemaids.TheinternalsuppressionofgriefisnotlimitedtocharacterslikePenelope.InMrsDalloway ,ClarissaalsosuppresseshergriefathowlifehasturnedoutfromothercharactersinthestorybygoingintoaseparateroomtoprocessSeptimussuicideandtodealwithhergriefandguiltatherpositioninsociety .ThethemeofsuppressioncontinuesthroughoutMrs.4Dallowayasmanycharacters,suchasRichard,cannotsayhowtheyfeel.Clarissarepeatsherlinetoherselfandcontinuestocompleteday-to-daytaskstoescapethefearofherlife soutcome.ThisattitudeissimilartoPenelope sinTheOdysseyandThePenelopiad.WhilePenelopeandClarissaarebothafraidandgrievingatdif ferentpointsinthebook,theycontinuetosuppressthatfromothercharactersandkeepcompletingtheirdailyactivitiestocope.Giventhatcharactersacrossliterarypiecesexperiencegrief,itisinterestingtolookatthedif ferenttypesofgriefandhowcharactersfacethem.LookingatTheOdyssey,wecanseethatacharacterlikePenelopeisverylimitedindealingwithhergrief.FemalecharactersinancientwritingslikeTheOdysseyareoftennotgiventhespotlighttoexploretheirfeelingsasTheOdyssey smaincharacterisOdysseushimself;Penelope sgriefisportrayedasbeingentirelyaboutherhusband;however ,inThePenelopiad,whereshecanbeveryopenaboutsaidgrievances,andwegetabettersenseofPenelope sperspectivethroughAtwood sinterpretation.W eseethatPenelopeisalsogrievinganduncertainaboutherfuturebecauseofthesuitors.W ealsoknowthatsheisgrievingforhermaidswhowereslainatthehandsofOdysseus,whilehedoesnotrealizethat.Finally ,inMrs.Dalloway,Clarissadealswithgriefsurroundingthesuicideofamansheneverknew .Hisdeathremindsherofhowunfulfilledsheandeveryoneelseis,andhergriefseemsoutofempathyforhimandherandothersintheirsituation.Penelopedealswithaverypersonalgrief,whileClarissadealswithgriefoveramanshedidn tknow .Penelopewasuncertainaboutthefuture,whileClarissaregrettedthepast.However ,whilePenelopeandClarissahaddif ferentformsofgrief,onewayofdealingwithgriefthattheyhadincommonwasthroughsuppressingorhidingtheirgrieffromtheothercharactersinthestory .5TheliterarythemeofgriefhasbeenusedinstorytellingsincetheancientepicTheOdyssey.ThesamethemehasbeenadoptedinmoremodernworkslikeMrs.DallowayandThePenelopiad,althoughthecharacter shandlingofgriefisdiverse.EvenothercharacterslikeSeptimusandOdysseusareshowntohandletheirgriefinuniqueways.Griefiseithersuppressed,asinthecaseofPenelopeorusedtoreaf firmlife,asinthecaseofClarissaconstantly .Regardlessofhowitishandled,griefisnecessarythroughoutmanyhistoricaltexts.CitationsAtwood,Mar garetEleanor .ThePenelopiad:TheMythofPenelopeandOdysseus.CanongateBooks,2006.Homer ,EmilyR.W ilson.TheOdyssey.W .W .NortonEtCompany ,Inc.,2018.Kerr ,J.Y .K.,andV irginiaW oolf.MrsDalloway.Penguin,1996.