Fighting the misogyny in myth : a feminist reading of James Joyce’s and Margaret Atwood’s adaptations of the Penelope myth

Abstract

This dissertation will discuss James Joyce’s Ulysses and Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad as adaptations of the Penelope myth, by analysing them through a feminist lens. The focus will be the techniques employed by the two in order to reimagine an ancient tale and make it relevant to the time in which they are writing, as well as make it engaging for a contemporary audience. Chapter 1 will serve as an introduction, focusing on the background of the Penelope myth as well as feminist critics’ attitudes towards it, in order to establish the different versions that both Joyce and Atwood might have been exposed to before deciding to pen their own adaptations. Chapter 2, then, will look at Joyce’s Ulysses, in particular its final section, ‘Penelope’. Apart from analysing the techniques employed by Joyce, the differing opinions of critics in terms of its feminist/misogynist qualities will be explored to try and determine the feminist value of the text. In Chapter 3, features of Atwood’s The Penelopiad – such as the voice given to previously voiceless characters and Atwood’s comments on the patriarchy – will be described. The Conclusion will then bring all of the above together by identifying the different paths chosen by the two authors, as well as their possible reasons for doing so, despite having chosen to adapt the same myth.