Book XXIII · Episode 2 of 4
Facing the Stranger
Penelope studies stranger, Odysseus plans
Scenes
- Silent Recognition — Penelope watches silently, Telemachus scolds
- Penelope sits opposite him by firelight
- His beggar’s rags make him a stranger
- Telemachus rebukes her hard-heartedness
- Wonder has overpowered her senses, she says
- Only shared tokens will prove his identity
- Counsel Against Reprisal — Odysseus warns of vengeance, feigns wedding
- Odysseus smiles at his wife’s caution
- A killer must flee his homeland
- They slew the flower of Ithaca’s youth
- Telemachus pledges to follow his counsel
- Bathing and dancing will mask the slaughter