The answer to that question can be answered quite easily. Odysseus was a horrible husband because of the fact that he was extremely unfaithful. On the other hand, Penelope was completely faithful for over 20 years even though she had many opportunities to be unfaithful. Infidelity and fidelity play a huge role in the story of Odysseus and Penelope. Odysseus was unfaithful and made love to many women during the 20 years he was separated from Penelope. For example he accepted Circe as his lover for over a year while still being married to Penelope. There are many other examples on why Odysseus was unfaithful and showed traits of infidelity. There are also many examples that show why Penelope was faithful.
Odysseus was unfaithful while he stayed with Circe for over a year. “I entered Circe’s flawless bed of love”(Homer,176). This proves that Odysseus did make love to Circe during the time period that he was away from Penelope. “As we were men we could not help consenting.So day by day we lingered,feasting long on roasts and wine,until a year grew fat”(Homer,179). The text also implies that it happened more than once. It could have possibly happened multiple times during the long one year period.This is just one reason why Odysseus was unfaithful and showed traits of infidelity.
Odysseus was also very unfaithful while he stayed on the Island of Ogygia with Kalypso. “ He lay with her each night”(Homer,85). The text proves that Odysseus would sleep with Calypso every night. This is a very big deal because Odysseus had been with Calypso for seven years. This proves that Odysseus was extremely unfaithful while he was on the Island Of Ogygia. This is one other situation that proves that Odysseus was unfaithful during his journey.
Unlike Odysseus, Penelope was extremely faithful. Penelope avoided all the suitors. She even decided to try to delay her picking a suitor for as long as possible. “Then she fell to weeping for Odysseus,her husband”(Homer,12). This statement proves that she cares deeply for Odysseus and misses him dearly. Penelope mourns for ODysseus and cannot get to sleep without the help of Athena. Penelope is constantly trying to avoid the suitors. The author made it seem as if that Penelope cared a lot more about their relationship than Odysseus. This shows because Penelope was being a lot more faithful than Odysseus during the 20 year time period.
Odysseus showed traits of infidelity. On the other hand, Penelope was the opposite and showed traits of fidelity. Odysseus was unfaithful in many different situations. For example, when he was with Circe for a year and slept with her at least one time. Another example would be when he was on the Island of Ogygia with Calypso and made love to her many times. While all this was happening Penelope was being extremely faithful. Even though their were a bunch of suitors she stayed faithful and tried her best to avoid them. Odysseus was very unfaithful and showed traits of infidelity while Penelope was faithful and showed traits of fidelity.
