The "low art" of storytelling (Verbal Irony)
"Now that all the others have run out of air, it's my turn to do a little story-making. I owe it to myself. I've had to work myself up to it: it's a low art, tale-telling" (3-4).
In the Penelopiad, Penelope tells her version of events of the Odyssey. Centuries after she has died, she is righting the record. As she does so, she maintains an ironic attitude and tone about her position as storyteller. In the passage above, she calls storytelling a "low art," implying that she considers herself above it. This moment is an example of verbal irony for several reasons. First, Penelope is a character in one of the oldest and most famous stories of Western literature, a tale that has been passed down for millennia. Homer is exalted as one of the great poets of human history, and part of the reason why readers would pick up the Penelopiad in the first place is humanity's lasting fascination with that story. Penelope is therefore digging at Homer (as well as the reader) with this passage, as she knows the only reason she still has an audience is because of the power of storytelling. Second, this passage contains verbal irony because Penelope is also digging at herself—storytelling is the way she is reclaiming agency and power after her death. If she truly considered it a "low art," she would not write a book-length version of events to set the record straight. She is taking the opportunity to tell her life story because of the power of storytelling, because she wants to sway readers into being on her side.
Antinous's complements (Verbal Irony)
"'It is the arrow of my love, Penelope of the divine form, fairest and most sagacious of all women,' he replied. 'Although it came from the renowned bow of Odysseus, in reality the cruel archer was Cupid himself. I wear it in remembrance of the great passion I bore for you, and carried to my grave'" (100).
In this passage, Antinous, one of the suitors, is heaping compliments on Penelope in the underworld. This is an example of verbal irony because we know that he does not mean what he is saying. In fact, he reveals the suitors' true feelings about Penelope in the very same conversation: "'You weren't exactly a Helen, but we could have dealt with that. The darkness conceals much! All the better that you were twenty years older than us—you'd die first, perhaps with a little help, and then, furnished with your wealth, we could have had our pick of any young and beautiful princesses we wanted'" (102).
The maids' audience (Verbal Irony)
"And the hanging itself—think, dear educated minds, of the significance of the hanging!" (165).
"Point being that you don't have to get too worked up about us, dear educated minds" (168).
The passages above appear in the chapter "An Anthropology Lecture," in which the twelve maids adopt the voice of a professor giving a lecture on the symbolism of the twelve maids in the Odyssey. The entire chapter is ironic, as the maids are detailing an argument that they themselves oppose. In the passages above, the maids address the audience of this lecture as "dear educated minds." These moments are examples of verbal irony because the maids do not actually hold the imaginary audience of their lecture in high esteem. Instead, they are mocking anyone who would believe that they are symbols instead of "real girls, real flesh and blood, real pain, real injustice" (168).
The judge (Dramatic Irony)
"However, your client's times were not our times. Standards of behaviour were different then. It would be unfortunate if this regrettable but minor incident were allowed to stand as a blot on an otherwise exceedingly distinguished career. Also I do not wish to be guilty of anachronism. Therefore I must dismiss the case" (182).
This passage comes from "The Trial of Odysseus, as Videotaped by the Maids," a chapter in which Odysseus is put on trial for killing all of the suitors. The judge decides to dismiss the case, without considering his treatment of the twelve maids. After the maids speak up for themselves, the judge agrees to determine whether Odysseus is guilty or innocent when it comes to their murder. Eventually, the judge decides that Odysseus is at fault for murdering the maids for committing the "crime" of getting raped by the suitors—something they absolutely could not have helped. Nevertheless, the judge says, "standards of behaviour were different" in Ancient Greece. Therefore, he dismisses the case.
This passage is a moment of dramatic irony in the Penelopiad. Here, Atwood is winking at the readers. Even though the judge is afraid of being "guilty of anachronism" (an anachronism is an act of attributing a custom, event, or object to a period to which it does not belong), Atwood is less afraid of making this mistake. In fact, even though Odysseus is put on trial only in this chapter within the world of the novel, Atwood has been putting him on trial throughout the entirety of the Penelopiad—and she has definitely found him guilty of his crimes. This is an example of dramatic irony because we the readers know something that the judge, Odysseus, and the maids do not: Odysseus is in fact guilty of wrongfully killing the maids.
