大象传媒

The Two Penelopes is a modern-day reworking of the story of Penelope in the Odyssey: she waits at home, in Ithaca, trying to avoid the attentions of the suitors (who believe, after 20 years, that Odysseus is dead and are vying to marry the woman they believe to be his widow). She tells them that she won鈥檛 marry until she鈥檚 woven a shroud for her dead father. She weaves all day, and then secretly unravels the work by night, to delay the inevitable. I swapped this for knitting, as it seems like a more realistic hobby for someone to have today. Also, as knitters will understand, it has always bothered me that poor Penelope would have spent as long unweaving as weaving - when did she sleep? But knitting can be unravelled very quickly indeed, which must come as a relief to my Penelope. The story is full of sneaky references to the Odyssey: for example, Penelope鈥檚 room number is 23 (the number of the book in which Odysseus finally returns home). So enjoy finding them...