Comparative Ideas

Exploring the ruthless treatment of women due to patriarchies disproportionate distribution of

power, in ancient Greek and 1950s British Academia times, both Margaret Atwood’s rewriting of the
grand epic the Odyssey in The Penelopiad and Anna Ziegler’s play Photograph 51 explicitly delineate
sthe dominance of men striping power from women. Both 'The Penelopiad' and 'Photograph 51'
explore the causes and consequences of a prejudiced society, portraying the different ways in which
women respond to the unjust roles they are forced into by men, with either submission or defiance.
While 'Photograph 51' presents a female protagonist who firmly resists her male counterparts'
attempts at diminishing her intellect and strength in the science field till the very end, 'The
Penelopiad' dissects the complexity of the female narrative, giving voice to an ancient character
celebrated for her conformity to the status quo. 
BP1- CAUSES: Modern society is built on an ancient foundation of patriarchal ideas, valuing men above women in all
aspects of life, condemning women to an inferior existence in which they are discriminated against, or as in ancient times,
commoditised by their male counterparts

BP2 RESPONSES: In the face of misogyny and discrimination, women are posed with the difficult choice of surrendering to
or challenging society's expectations

BP3 CONSEQUENCES: Society's disparaging perceptions of women have built a culture in which women are led to believe
they are of little to no worth. As a result, women must not only combat the misogyny shoved in their faces by society, but
they must also battle with their own doubt and disbelief concerning their capabilities, which creeps into their minds when
they are surrounded by an environment of domineering men

Commoditsed, misogyny, disparaging perceptions,

P1- Through her multifocal narration of Penelope’s story, Atwood exposes the patriarchy that is at the root of
all of ‘The Penelopiad’ women’s hardships.

Whether it be the dominant patriarchal monarchies of Ancient Greece or the cloistered masculine corridors of
1950s British academia

Seemingly untouchable dominant social order

P51 explores how sexism in the workplace restricts women from their aspirations and potentials

Eponymous characters’ dramatic indictments that she was “the payment of a service” and violated in a
“sanctioned rape”, cementing the ideas of the dehumanisation, commodification and violence of the system.

P2- Through her polyphonic narrative, designed to subvert the tradition to privilege a dominant male narrative,
Attwood affords her female characters a strong and distinct voice largely silenced in Homer’s text.

Conclusion:

In Margaret Atwood's novella 'The Penelopiad' and Anna Ziegler's play 'Photograph 51', the underlying
misogyny which limits women's chances at success and recognition is exposed and scrutinised. While each
text's protagonist responds to society's perceptions in different ways, Penelope conforms out of necessity for
survival and Rosalind defies suppositions to pursue her passion, however the message they convey to
audiences is similar: women in both ancient and modern times are limited by society's expectations and
perceptions. By giving these two historical women a voice and control over their stories, Atwood and Ziegler
strive to empower a modern generation of women to defy outdated patriarchal ideas and values. 
 CAUSES
Photograph 51
However, part-war, and precipitated by the belief that women should return to the home, the
historical convergence of unprecedented opportunity and entrenched gender bias has tragic
consequences for Rosalind Franklin.

In the post-World War II atmosphere of Photograph 51, Ziegler shows how forces of sexism and
antisemitism were still an inextricable part of society’s underpinnings. Rosalind Franklin was taken
advantage of because, as a woman and a Jewish person, she existed along the margins of wider
society—within her own narrow, male-dominated profession, she was even more of a target for
prejudice and vitriol.

- The world of science is considered the domain of men - as Rosalind tells Wilkins, ‘Not a
single female scientist from Britain was given a research position during wartime.’ (p. 15)

- Language and labels afforded individuals is highly gendered or implies degree of

respect/status in the world of the text. Franklin’s co-workers refer to her, both pointedly and
thoughtlessly, using nicknames or diminutives that highlight her womanhood. Hence, while
Wilkins insists upon being called Dr. Wilkins, he calls Dr. Rosalind—who has the same
qualifications, having earned her doctorate from Cambridge—as either “Miss Franklin” or
“Rosy.”

- Wilkins uses a nickname to invalidate Rosalind’s choices, actions, and behaviours—mocking

fun how un- “rosy” she is, his language implies that he has certain expectations of how
women should behave, and is determined to belittle and berate “Rosy” until she acts in a
vein more consistent with these societal expectations. The men delight in denigrating “Rosy”
behind her back, poking fun at her serious demeanour as they plot to profit off her hard
work.

- Early in the play, Ziegler establishes the difficulty of being a female in the field of science, as
she reveals that the senior common room is “for men only”, denying Rosalind “the
conversations [she] need[s] to have” for “scientists make discoveries over lunch”. While this
does not apparently set her back in her work, the outdated principle that a woman may not
eat lunch with men places strain on Franklin’s relationship with Wilkins, which proves to be
costly later in the race to discover “the secret of life”.
The Penelopiad
In her introduction to the novella, Atwood alludes to the traditional roles women are assigned to
society – citing Penelope’s archetypal role in The Odyssey as the “quintessential faithful wife” and
her “constancy”.

In this world, women inhabited the domestic space and men roam freely. Women lead a life that is
confined by narrow expectations about gender – urged to adopt strict/rigid roles, adhere to rules
about modesty and submit to their fathers/husband’s rule.

- By sardonically referring to this “version” as a “stick used to beat other women”, Penelope
asserts that it is a narrative or way of thinking/set of social expectations that has been used
to control women and to dictate their behaviour. The violent nature of her imagery
suggesting that this dominant view has been rigorously or forcefully imposed on women –
that it is intentionally oppressive.

- Odysseus is celebrated and commended for his infidelity, whereas the rumours of
Penelope’s almost cost her life. These blatant double standards that exist in their
society directly result in the mistreatment of women, such as the hanging of Penelope’s
maids for allegedly being “notorious whores”. While Odysseus’ decade of sleeping with
goddesses is viewed as ‘heroic’, the maids’ rapes are perceived by society as a crime worthy
of death.

- The form of the maid’s lament, a “rope skipping rhyme”, is not only an allusion to their
childish innocence, but it adds to the pathos of their situation – the reference to “rope”
foreshadowing the heavy punishments dealt to women who challenge the status quo and
their inability to determine their own fate (their fate is decided by the men).

- The maids observe that men hold “the spear”, “the word” and “command” - the blunt
nature of the observation, with its powerful and violent connotations, suggesting that men
control the narrative and the power to forcefully shape perception.

- Penelope confirm that it is a society that values “beauty” in women/perceives “beauty” as a

commodity. The implication of her observation is that society does not value intelligence or
the fact that Penelope is “smart”. As such, in this context, Penelope believe she lacks value
in contrast to her nemesis, Helen, as she is “nothing special to look at”. Penelope’s
observations about Helen who is “very beautiful” and has men “gawping at her” exposes a
social belief system that pits woman against woman.
 Responses
Photograph 51
Rosalind refuses to conform to stereotypical images of femininity and will not compromise herself to
please others. Her use of the personal pronoun “my” as she seeks to protect “my data” and “my
work” asserts her independence and defiance of narrow roles assigned to women.

Franklin rejects the gendered gestures made by Wilkins – the typical “box of chocolates” used to
sweeten Franklin and assertion that “kindness always works with women” promptly rejected with
the assurance he doesn’t “have to try to win [her] over” as she is “not that kind of person” (pp. 33-
35) here, Franklin resists being type cast/reduced to an object whose affections can be bought and
sold – a role that diminishes her intellect and ability.

While the ambitious young American scientist Watson is the least sympathetically portrayed
character, with acidic scenes in which he mocks Franklin’s Jewishness as well as her femaleness;
even he isn’t a cliché. His is simply (and tragically) voicing the unsaid criticisms of his British
colleagues. As such, as the staging confirms, he scoffingly rejects any notion of “her place in history”

The Penelopiad
When Penelope is given the chance to tell her story while in the afterlife, she directly orders the
audience: "don't follow my example". The first chapter, 'A Low Art', characterizes Penelope as
regretful of her conformity to society's misogynistic perceptions of women, as she recognises that
her "edifying legend" has damaged women's opportunities to become equals to men. Penelope's
failure to "contradict" haunts her, however through her regret and reflection on her life, Atwood
communicates the need to rise up against expectations to her audience

The maids give a powerful voice to society’s double standards, especially about promiscuity, boldly
defying Odysseus’s image as a noble soldier with the accusation that he “scratched” his “itch” with
every “goddess, queen, and bitch” while they were “judged bad”. Here, the maids expose the
entrenched injustice and hypocrisy of a society where they are “killed” for their actions – even rape
– at the hands of men while Odysseus retains his power and status.

“I was nothing special to look at. I was smart, though: considering the times, very smart.” Penelope
compares herself to Helen. She feels Helen’s beauty is destructive as drives men to lust for her. This
lust has the power to turn an entire city of Troy to flames. Helen’s smiles are enough to captivate
many men. Thus, Penelope can’t understand why Helen is never punished for her transgression. On
the other hand, Penelope sees herself as plain but very smart. She has never transgressed moral
bounds unlike Helen. Helen being “intolerably beautiful” makes Penelope becomes diminished in her
own sense of self.

“Cleverness is a quality a man likes”.

Both Anticlea and Eurycleia reinforce expectations about female modesty and behaviour used to
limit identity and potential. Penelope avoided Anticleia and stayed with Eurycleia, who, although
condescending, was friendly. She told Penelope all about the local nobility and professed to be an
expert on Odysseus’s tastes, having nursed him since childhood. Because of this, Eurycleia was
possessive of him, and only she was allowed to attend to him. Penelope would try to do some nice
wifely task for Odysseus only to be told by Eurycleia that she had done it wrong. Eurycleia’s
instructions to Penelope, although intended to be helpful, are an example of how many women in
Ancient Greece (at least as described by Atwood) criticized and restricted other women’s
behaviours, creating a narrow definition of correct femininity that was based around caring for men.
This puts enormous pressure on Penelope.

Penelope describes her mother-in-law as a “sour woman” who did not approve of Penelope because
of her youth. Rather than being a friend and ally to her daughter-in-law, Anticleia criticizes Penelope
and does not approve of her youth. This shows again how, throughout the novel, women tear each
other down rather than support each other.

Penelope is able to use storytelling to control her own story, maintaining that “it's my turn to do a
little story-making. I owe it to myself.” (p.3) Penelope's spinning of her own 'thread' in The
Penelopiad (p.4) disputes Homer's idealised version of her in The Odyssey and displays her
considerable intelligence and resilience.

For Penelope, weaving becomes a form of resistance, as every day, she “weave” the “shroud”, and
every night, she undoes her weaving with the help of the maids. Her ploy failed only when one of
her servants eventually betrayed her and told the suitors what was happening. As Penelope is posed
with the challenge of keeping the kingdom in her control whilst Odysseus is travelling home, she is
phased with a number of suitors in pursuit of control of Ithaca. However, Penelope’s intelligence is
used in response to deceive the suitors with wit. Despite her resistance, Atwood advances that
Penelope is eventually exposed by her maids to magnify the idea that those who do not act in their
social role in the way Penelope defies the female limitations of only be a beautiful object ultimately
leads to her downfall.
 Consequences

MAIDS SUBVERT TO SOCIETY

Subverting the image of Odysseus as a brave warrior, their mocking account of his travels cast him as
a “crafty old codger” engaged in “kissing and woo”. Boldly, the maids defy the prevailing narrative by
mocking their “captain” and therefore refusing to conform to the dominant narrative.

Left as owls, “fly away as owls”,

Telemachus slaughters the “snow-white geese”, symbolising their innocence and barbaric treatment
all along

VS. Rosaline who SUBMITS TO SOCIETY

“didn’t stand out”

Photograph 51

Through an intertextual reference to Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, Wilkins speaks powerfully
about the power men have in naming women – constructing roles, titles and language used to
describe women – observing that in “naming her [Hermione]” he “lets her live”

The Winter’s Tale – Rosalind’s return to this performance at the end of the play is significant.
Through the intertextual reference, she reminds audiences that her plight is part of a cycle – where
female stories/names/identities/accomplishments are forgotten or eclipsed by a male story.

Therefore, when she observes that “I can’t remember who played Hermione” in the performance,
noting that “she simply didn’t stand out”, as the lights “slowly fade on her”, Ziegler uses this as a
metaphor for Rosalind, her experience and her relegation into the shadows or darkness of history.

Like the actor who played Hermione, Franklin is unable to stake her claim or realise her potential.

Ziegler’s portrayal of Rosalind is controversial—her assertion that Rosalind was at fault for the ways
in which her colleagues overlooked her and preyed upon her

Franklin refuses to “collaborate” (p. 38) with Wilkins – understanding that their relationship is not
founded on mutual respect.

Rosalind Franklin’s notorious unwillingness to collaborate—a defence mechanism she developed

after facing years of sexism and antisemitism from her overwhelmingly white male colleagues—is
responsible, in Ziegler’s estimation, for hindering her from deciphering Photograph 51 in the mad
“race” to determine the structure of DNA.
Photograph 51 comes to represent Rosalind’s failures of trust and openness, which are, in Ziegler’s
opinion, the reason Rosalind died in relative obscurity while her male colleagues took credit for her
hard and innovative work.

However, she is also the victim of a cycle of injustice articulated by Gosling who observes that she
should have been “born at another time” or, as crick responds, “or born a man”. Her gender is
attributed to her tragic exclusion from the pages of history.

The Penelopiad

CYCLE of INJUSTICE: In the Anthropology Lecture, Atwood confirms society’s tendency to engage in a
metaphoric reading of the original text and therefore conveniently overlook the fact that the girls
murdered were “real girls, real flesh” who suffered “real pain” and “injustice”. Here, Atwood
suggests that the academic lens through which this story has been viewed dehumanises the female
experience and transacts their pain.

Penelope reminds readers of the cycle of injustice through her cautionary reminder that “the world
is just as dangerous as it was in [her] day” and just as “tawdry”. – longevity of this oppression

Margaret Atwood presents how patriarchy continues to be prominent in the 21 st century in ‘The Trial

of Odysseus’, where she employs the setting of a modern judicial system to explore Odysseus’
responsibility over his murder of the maids. The Judge’s dismissal of the case on the basis that “it
would be unfortunate if this regrettable but minor incident were allowed to stand as a blot on an
otherwise exceedingly distinguished career” directly addresses the failure of society to protect
women and be just, as men will always prevail no matter their crimes.

Atwood reminds readers that this is not a story about the past through her use of a contemporary
setting and all the modern trappings of a courtroom.