Epic: The Musical: Penelope’s Test for Odysseus in “Would You Fall In Love With Me Again”

Originally posted on TikTok account: @Leilasstorycorner and on Insta: @Leilas_storycorner_

After the Ithaca Saga released on Christmas, I’ve seen some people describe Penelope’s test in “Would You Fall in Love with Me Again” as a way to figure out if the man in front of her is actually Odysseus.

And while that is what Penelope was doing in The Odyssey, that’s not what the test is being used for in this song.

To remind everyone of the Test:

[Penelope]
If that's true, could you do me a favor?

Just a moment of labor, that could bring me some peace?

See that wedding bed?

Could you carry it over?

Lift it high on your shoulders

And take it far away from here?

Tldr: Penelope asks Odysseus to remove their wedding be from their room.

To which Odysseus, hurt, angrily responds with:

[Odysseus]
How could you say this?
I had built that wedding bed with my blood and sweat
Carved it into the olive tree where we first met
A symbol of my love everlasting
Do you realize what you have asked me?
The only way to move it is to cut it from its roots!

Tldr: The bed was carved into the still planted Olive Tree, so the bed can’t be removed without removing the tree itself.

Penelope then points out:

[Penelope]
Only my husband knew that
So I guess that makes him you!

The point of the test is to prove to Odysseus that he’s still her “kind and gentle husband” (WYFILWMA line 12) despite all of the things that he’s done. It’s why the “Just a Man” Instrumental plays when they hug.

Besides, Penelope doesn’t need to test if he’s Odysseus, she already knows it’s him. The Lines:

Is it you? Have my prayers been answered?
Is it really you standing there?
Or am I dreaming once more?
You look different

Your eyes look tired
Your frame is lighter

Your smile, torn

Is it really you, my love?

Aren’t said/sung in a suspicious tone, Penelope’s worried, heartbroken at the obvious pain and struggles that he’s gone through, but still happy that he’s home.

Also, Penelope has, at the very least, suspected that Odysseus is back since “The Challenge”, the first song of the saga:

Since we saw that storm
And though it was so close to our kingdom
It was far from the norm
Unless
Oh, could it be some kind of sign

That my world is all about to change?

While not explicitly stated in “Keep Your Friends Close”, it’s believed that they are just outside Ithaca when Eurylochus opens the Wind Bag and they are blasted back to the Land of the Giants.

This is because that’s when the Wind Bag is opened in The Odyssey.

Editor Note: In a TikTok comment, someone stated that Odysseus and his crew WERE outside Ithaca when the Wind Bag is opened, but I still could not find the exact lines.

It’s likely that Penelope saw her husband’s ship about to reach Ithaca, but then sees a storm take it away.

So, as TikToker @thelupinesojourner points out, when a storm that looks exactly like the one that took her husband away 7-8 years ago, appears again, Penelope’s going to take it as a sign that it’s brought her husband back.

It’s why she feels comfortable issuing the Challenge in “The Challenge”, because she knows:

1. Odysseus is the only person who could string his bow and make the shot, and

2. Would not hurt her or allow her to be hurt.

And on the off chance that’s she’s wrong on any of these accounts, she can take comfort in the fact that Telemachus is on a diplomatic mission and won’t be around to face the fall out.

Also, Penelope is likely aware that Telemachus is in contact with Athena, and probably trusts that Athena wouldn’t allow her son to be tricked by someone claiming to be Odysseus.

And on the off chance that’s she’s wrong on any of these accounts, she can take comfort in the fact that Telemachus is on a diplomatic mission and won’t be around to face the fall out.

Also, Penelope is likely aware that Telemachus is in contact with Athena, and probably trusts that Athena wouldn’t allow her son to be tricked by someone claiming to be Odysseus.

This song is a great example of where, in adaptations, the original text can be a helpful guide, or can help fill in gaps of knowledge, but is not going to always dictate what’s happening in an adaptation.

And it’s also a great example on how an adaptation can make a change from the original text without fundamentally changing the original narrative.