A Low Art [Excerpt from The Penelopiad]

by Margaret Atwood (Canada)

Now that I’m dead I know everything. This is what I wished would happen, but like so
many of my wishes it failed to come true. I know only a few factoids that I didn’t know
before. Death is much too high a price to pay for the satisfaction of curiosity, needless
to say. Since being dead—since achieving this state of bonelessness, liplessness,
breastlessness—I’ve learned some things I would rather not know, as one does when
listening at windows or opening other people’s letters. You think you’d like to read
minds? Think again.
Down here everyone arrives with a sack, like the sacks used to keep the winds in, but
each of these sacks is full of words—words you’ve spoken, words you’ve heard, words
that have been said about you. Some sacks are very small, others large; my own is of a
reasonable size, though a lot of the words in it concern my eminent husband. What a
fool he made of me, some say. It was a specialty of his: making fools. He got away with
everything, which was another of his specialties: getting away.

He was always so plausible. Many people have believed that his version of events was
the true one, give or take a few murders, a few beautiful seductresses, a few one-eyed
monsters. Even I believed him, from time to
time. I knew he was tricky and a liar, I just didn’t think he would play his tricks and try
out his lies on me. Hadn’t I been faithful? Hadn’t I waited, and waited, and waited,
despite the temptation—almost the compulsion—to do
otherwise? And what did I amount to, once the official version gained ground? An
edifying legend. A stick used to beat other women with. Why couldn’t they be as
considerate, as trustworthy, as all-suffering as I had been?
That was the line they took, the singers, the yarn-spinners. Don’t follow my example, I
want to scream in your ears—yes, yours! But when I try to scream, I sound like an owl.

Of course I had inklings, about his slipperiness, his wiliness, his foxiness, his—how can
I put this?—his unscrupulousness, but I turned a blind eye. I kept my mouth shut; or if I
opened it, I sang his praises. I didn’t contradict, I didn’t ask awkward questions, I didn’t
dig deep. I wanted happy endings in those days, and happy endings are best achieved
by keeping the right doors locked and going to sleep during the rampages. But after the
main events were over and things had become less legendary, I realised how many
people were laughing at me behind my back—how they were jeering, making jokes
about me, jokes both clean and dirty; how they were turning me into a story, or into
several stories, though not the kind of stories I’d prefer to hear about myself. What can
a woman do when scandalous gossip travels the world? If she defends herself she
sounds guilty. So I waited some more.

Now that all the others have run out of air, it’s my turn to do a little storymaking. I owe it
to myself. I’ve had to work myself up to it: it’s a low art, tale-telling. Old women go in for
it, strolling beggars, blind singers, maidservants, children—folks with time on their
hands. Once, people would have laughed if I’d tried to play the minstrel—there’s nothing
more preposterous than an aristocrat fumbling around with the arts—but who cares
about public opinion now? The opinion of the people down here: the opinions of
shadows, of echoes. So I’ll spin a thread of my own.
In the opening section of her narrative, Penelope immediately draws attention to the fact
that she is dead, highlighting the setting as the afterlife and introducing the theme of
Ancient Greek religious views, which recurs throughout the text.
Penelope’s description of the “sack full of words” shows the central role that stories,
rumors, and myths play in the book, and the importance they have in determining and
shaping one’s identity—both as it’s experienced and as it’s perceived by others.
This section seems to be somewhat ironic, considering how Odysseus’s adventures in
the Odyssey are already highly mythologized. Belief in Odysseus’s account seems to
have been part of Penelope’s role as his wife.
Penelope feels that the official version of events flattened her character into a means of
controlling other women (making her an ideal of blind faithfulness and constancy toward
her husband, to a standard to which other women were then held), showing how
narrative can be oppressive. As Penelope continues, suggesting she remained silent
because she wanted “happy endings,” Atwood shows how the normal narrative
structure itself can be distortive and suppressive. As Penelope describes the rumors
about her, Atwood continues to show this more damaging side of narrative.
As Penelope describes storytelling as a “low art,” the reader may think of the various
other arts—like fiber work, which is so central to this story— that have been described
as “low,” and how these “low” art forms are often associated with women and femininity.
In this section, Atwood introduces the Twelve Maids, who serve as a Greek chorus (a
traditional element of Ancient Greek drama) throughout the book, commenting on and
sometimes contradicting Penelope’s narrative. As the Maids introduce their accusations
against Odysseus, they point out the double standard of promiscuity for men and
women—a double standard that persists even today, thousand of years later.
When the Maids note that Odysseus was armed with words and a spear, they draw a
parallel between the two, suggesting that words might be a kind of weapon. Odysseus’s
control of language and narrative gives him power.
When Penelope states that, in order to truly start at the beginning with her story, she
would have to start at the beginning of the world, she is perhaps implying that, since her
story is part of a larger history of her gender, she cannot divorce herself from it.
Penelope’s early experience with her father shows how, from the time she was a child,
her life has been colored by male violence. That her father acted based on a prophecy
reinforces how stories and words are supremely influential, so much so that they could
inspire infanticide. Icarius’s actions show how quick people are to act upon the stories
that they hear.
Crafting and fiber works are often depicted as feminine arts and are one of the main
symbols throughout the novel. They often are used to represent storytelling.
As she discusses her father’s attempt to kill her, Penelope suggests the possibility of
using stories as a way to mitigate or disguise unpleasant realities.
Although Penelope does not remember her father’s betrayal, the stories of his violence
against her still affect her deeply, showing how powerfully stories can change
viewpoints and affect relationships.
Penelope’s mother is a Naiad (water nymph), and Penelope believes that her maternal
connections saved her. Penelope’s mother’s connection to water is one of many ways
that Atwood links the ocean with women and motherhood.
Although Icarius is now kind to Penelope, the knowledge of his violence against her
makes Penelope unable to trust him. This serves as a representative example of the
effect of historical violence against women, which creates lingering fear and mistrust.
While Penelope does think that her blood relation to her mother is part of what saved
her, Penelope does not have a close emotional relationship with her whatsoever. In
general, Penelope’s youth is devoid of strong female relationships, whether with a
mother figure or peers her own age. It’s suggested that the lack of female community in
Greece (at least among the upper class) is part of what makes women like Penelope so
vulnerable.
Although Penelope’s childhood may have been difficult, the Maids show how their
poverty and low social class from birth made their childhoods infinitely more dangerous.
Because of their status as female slaves, the Maids not only have to work all day, but
they also suffer the constant threat of sexual abuse and rape. Atwood here shows how
class status compounds with gender to leave slave women extremely susceptible to
gendered violence.
While marriage is, to Penelope, a kind of monetary exchange, the Maids see marriage
as a privilege. To them, marriage is a way of establishing that their bodies have value.
Atwood shows how systems of oppression like marriage can look different depending
on class status.
As Penelope describes the underworld, it is clear to readers familiar with Christianity
that the Ancient Greek afterlife is extremely different from the Christian one. Penelope’s
afterlife in the fields of asphodel, the most honorable part of the underworld, lacks the
pleasures of Christian Heaven.
As Penelope discusses the punishments that villains endure in the lower levels of the
Ancient Greek underworld, her descriptions show how different this underworld is than
Christian Hell. Unlike Hell, where punishment is physical, punishment in the Greek
afterlife is purely psychological torture.
As Penelope continues to describe Ancient Greek religious beliefs, it becomes even
more obvious how vastly different Ancient Greek religion is from modern-day
Christianity. Unlike mainstream Christianity, Ancient Greek religion featured
conversation with the dead and animal sacrifice. Meanwhile, human spirits frequently
visit the earth, showing how much more flexible the concept of death is in Ancient
Greece.
Penelope explicitly resolves the question of the role of Christianity in the modern world
when she describes what is clearly Christian Hell, with “demons with pitchforks” (devils)
and characteristic fire. Through this description of Christian Hell, Atwood shows how, as
she rather playfully imagines it in this novel, Christianity has not replaced earlier
religions or revealed them to be false, but has simply been added alongside them.
This section introduces Penelope’s rivalry with Helen. Meanwhile, Penelope’s casual
remarks about how some god is “always raping someone or other” shows how rape is
so normalized and common in Penelope’s culture that she has become offhand and
casual about it. It also shows how the Greek gods were not paragons of virtue, but were
often even less moral than the humans they ruled.
Penelope’s frustration with Helen quickly becomes clear as Penelope criticizes the
clothes that Helen chooses to wear. Penelope’s superficial criticisms reveal her petty
side as Penelope actively competes with her cousin. These two famous women of myth
clearly have no special bond, but only a sense of competition.
Helen’s beauty and easy ability to get male attention clearly makes Penelope feel
insecure, as evidenced by Penelope’s discussion of her own plainness. Penelope’s
good qualities (brains, devotion) are less valued than Helen’s looks. Notably, Penelope
is still concerned with gaining male attention, rather than describing hers and Helen’s
qualities as inherently good or valuable.
Penelope seems to feel that Helen has avoided atoning for the Trojan War, showing
how the Ancient Greek afterlife has no real mechanisms for assigning guilt and atoning
for evil deeds.
When Penelope says that she was “the payment” in a deal between Odysseus and
Tyndareous, she emphasizes again that women are trafficked as money. Moreover, she
shows how women’s lives can be totally changed and uprooted as a result of men’s
minor dealings and games.
When Penelope describes herself as a “package of meat” being handed over to
Odysseus, she emphasizes how marriage in Ancient Greece was a system that
objectified women and turned them into prizes rather than people. As Penelope then
describes the culture surrounding meat sacrifices to the gods, she expands the reader’s
understanding of Ancient Greek religion and the behavior of the gods.
Margaret Eleanor Atwood

Margaret Atwood was born in 1939 in Ottawa and grew up in northern Ontario, Quebec,
and Toronto. She received her undergraduate degree from Victoria College at the
University of Toronto and her master’s degree from Radcliffe College.

Throughout her writing career, Margaret Atwood has received numerous awards and
honourary degrees. She is the author of more than thirty-five volumes of poetry,
children’s literature, fiction, and non-fiction and is perhaps best known for her novels,
which include The Edible Woman (1970), The Handmaid’s Tale (1983), The Robber
Bride (1994), Alias Grace (1996), and The Blind Assassin, which won the prestigious
Booker Prize in 2000. Atwood’s dystopic novel, Oryx and Crake, was published in 2003.
The Tent (mini-fictions) and Moral Disorder (short stories) both appeared in 2006. Her
most recent volume of poetry, The Door, was published in 2007. Her non-fiction book,
Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth - in the Massey series, appeared in
2008, and her most recent novel, The Year of the Flood, in the autumn of 2009. Ms.
Atwood’s work has been published in more than forty languages, including Farsi,
Japanese, Turkish, Finnish, Korean, Icelandic and Estonian. In 2004 she co-invented
the Long Pen TM.

Summary
“A Low Art” is an excerpt from The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood. Penelopiad opens
with Penelope, the first-person narrator, quoting herself saying, “Now that I’m dead, I
know everything.” Penelope then goes on to say that this wish did not come true, at
least not totally. Death, Penelope thinks, despite the knowledge it brings, is not worth
the cost. She even says that she would rather not know some of the things she has
learned.

In Homer’s “The Odyssey”, Odysseus’ fancy and heroic adventures and Penelope,
being the bad guy, were highlighted. However, “A Low Art”, through Penelope’s
perspective discussed how Odysseus, her husband, made a fool out of her by the
versions of narrations about their relationship. Penelope narrates how great Odysseus
is in making fools for making people believe with his versions of events. Penelope’s
agony and pain was shown by “A Low Art” with her version of story— keeping a blind
eye to achieve her happy ending. Her little story making is somehow to clear her side.

Unlocking Of Words
1. Jeer
make rude and mocking remarks, typically in a loud voice

The storyteller felt that people are jeering on her.

2. Preposterous
contrary to reason or common sense; utterly absurd or ridiculous

If any man was to be put in the preposterous position of courting Penelope, no man was
fitter for it than Odysseus.
3. Fumble
use the hands clumsily while doing or handling something

She looked away and fumbled with sack full of words.

4. Edifying
providing moral or intellectual instruction

Though these have been made more edifying, they have not lost their hope.
5.Factoids
an invented fact believed to be true because it appears in print

Peoplestarted to belive in factoids about Penelope’s affair.

6. Aristocrat
a member of the aristocracy, a nobleman or a noblewoman

The aristocrats were infuriated against her.

7. Rampage
violent or excited behavior that is reckless, uncontrolled, or destructive

A rampage was created when the gossip spread.

8. Inkling
a slight knowledge or suspicion; a hint

She was beginning to get an inkling when people are suspicious.

9. Compulsion
the action or state of forcing or being forced to do something; constraint

Penelope is a faithful wife unless compulsion is used.

10. Unscrupulous
having or showing no moral principles; not honest or fair

He was too unscrupulous and self-centred to play deaf about the gossip.

Guide Questions

1. Why does Penelope comsider storytelling “a low art”?

Story telling is a low art for Penelope because stories have different versions for
different people. What some believe may differ from what others believe.

2. How does Penelope’s portrayal differ from the traditional portrayal of Odysseus?
What do you think of Odysseus?

Many people have believed that his version of events was true one. Meanwhile, behind
all that people think of him, Penelope knew from the start that he was being tricky and
liar after all. For me, Odysseus can be compared to a lie believed by most people rather
than the truth because what he showed was what people would believe although behind
those actions are lies.

3. Based on Penelope’s perspective, how is she different from how the epic portrays
her? What do you think of Penelope’s character in the preceding story?

Penelope felt compeled to tell her story because she is unsatisfied with Homer’s
portrayal of her and others myths about her. Some critics dismiss Penelope as a
paragon of marital fidelity — a serious and industrious character, a devoted wife and
mother, but one who lacks the fascination and zest for life that some of Homer’s
immortal women display. However, in the excerpt from The Penelopiad, “A Low Art”,
Penelope wanted to speak out the true version of her story.

4. What does she have to say about the “official version” of what happened? Why does
she point this out?

Penelope feels that the official version of events flattened her character into a means of
controlling other women, making her an ideal of blind faithfulness and constancy toward
her husband, to a standard to which other women were then held, and showing how
narrative can be oppressive. As Penelope continues, suggesting she remained silent
because she wanted “happy endings.”

5. Why does she call herself “a stick to beat other women with”? Do you agree with her?
Why or why not?

I agree with Penelope. She had only realized many painful things when she was already
dead like being a stick used to beat other woman with, how her husband would trick her,
and how people would speak of her. Feminism is not a stick that is used to beat other
women

6. Why does Penelope say that she “souds like an owl” when she tries to warn other
women?

Penelope said that she sounds like an owl when she tried to warn other women
because just like an owl, people would not want to listen to her especially to everything
that he had to say.

7. How much of ancient history do you think is fact and how much on gossip or
exaggeration?

Gossips may sometimes be true, but ancient history are more of truth because they are
really based on proofs like different materials with source of information and having
accounts of someone who has first hand information.

Individual Reflection

Many people believed Odysseus’ version of events, even Penelope. After several days,
Penelope realized that people are talking behind her back, that they were making fun of
Penelope and that they were laughing behind her back. Now, it’s Penelope’s turn to do
the revenge. She called it “low art” because it’s a kind of an art, but it’s for the people
who have low class. It’s gossiping, a revised story-telling.
Because of the excerpt, I have realized that one thing which can make a person happy
is his openness to speak out and might as well listen to others. Things are not always
what they seem. We will never know the truth unless we listen to both sides.