In her essay "Penelope as Moral Agent", Helene Foley attempts to discuss Penelope, one of the main characters in Homer's Odyssey, in terms of classical Athenian representation of women and, as her title suggests, in terms of what she calls a "moral agent." In the introductory paragraph he lays out the guidelines established by Aristotle and his contemporaries that constitute a moral agent: the character must make an ethical and moral decision "on which actions are based... without critical knowledge of the circumstances" (Foley 93 ) . To this end, Foley ultimately decides that Penelope meets these standards and adds that her social, familial, and personal responsibilities play a critical role in making that decision. Foley's examples and his in-depth analysis of the Odyssey all support his thesis as I have interpreted it. There are, however, problems in his comparison between the Odyssey and outside texts (especially Carol Gilligan's), inconsistencies in citations and style, and examples that have little or nothing to do with his thesis. The biggest problem I found with this essay is its ignorance of some facts that could be interpreted as contrary to its findings. Since I am not familiar with and have not read any of the outside texts Foley references ((Oedipus Tyrannos, Aristotle's Poetics, Politics and Ethics, the medical texts of Hippocrates, and Carol Gilligan's feminist theory), I can only assume that his interpretations of these texts are correct. In any case, he uses Aristotle and Hippocrates to develop a historical framework against which to judge Homer's fictional character, Penelope. This method would have led to a good discussion if he had included in his analysis a. .. middle of paper… to be true about Odysseus' whereabouts It is this aspect of his thought process in making the decision to present the bow to the suitors as a most pressing concern for Penelope and ultimately making the decision. for her. Works Cited and Consulted Diana Buitron-Oliver and Beth Cohen, "Between Skylla and Penelope: Female Characters of the Odyssey in Archaic and Classical Greek Art," pp. 29-58. Richard Brilliant, "Kirke's Men: Swine and Sweethearts," pp. 165-73. Helene Foley, “Penelope as Moral Agent,” in Beth Cohen, ed., The Distaff Side (Oxford 1995), pp. 93-115. Jennifer Neils, "Les Femmes Fatales: Skylla and the Sirens in Greek Art," pp. 175-84.Marilyn Arthur Katz, Penelope's Fame: Meaning and Indeterminacy in the Odyssey (Princeton 1991). Nancy Felson-Rubin, Concerning Penelope: From Courtship to Poetics (Princeton 1994).