Twenty years is indeed a long time to have to wait for a loved one. Over the past two decades Penelopeπs emotions have been tossed each and every way. Surrounded by suitors for every minute that her beloved Odysseus was away was surely a great temptation especially seeing her mistresses doing as they please around the house with the young men.
But Penelope stayed strong and at last her strong will paid off. However even though she has clearly stayed devoted to Odysseus when he finally does return like she had hoped she is so overcome she doesnπt know what to think and has trouble accepting him as the real deal.

"My good nurse," answered Penelope, "you must be mad. The gods sometimes send some very sensible people out of their minds, and make foolish people become sensible. This is what they must have been doing to you; for you always used to be a reasonable person.

Even Penelopeπs most trusted nurse and friend is not believed by Penelope when she first brings her the news. Even though she has kept hope of Odysseus one day returning she has been listening to everyone saying no one returns after such a long time gone and cant believe that he has truly come back and displaced the suitors from his house.

She said this to try him, but Ulysses was very angry and said, "Wife, I am much displeased at what you have just been saying. Who has been taking my bed from the place in which I left it? He must have found it a hard task, no matter how skilled a workman he was, unless some god came and helped him to shift it.

Then Ulysses in his turn melted, and wept as he clasped his dear and faithful wife to his bosom.

Again after Penelope has finally accepted her long lost husband they find the love they once shared. And again Odysseus in his manly state begins to cry again.

≥Forgive me, donπt be angry. I could not welcome you with love on sight!≤

In the beginning of this book, the nurse told Penelope that Odysseus had returned. Penelope did not believe her because it was so unlikely that Odysseus would return again after so many years. Penelope replies that the nurse must be losing her mind. The nurse also tells her that after Odysseus came, he disguised himself and killed all the suitors. Penelope said that if all the suitors were indeed dead, it must have been the gods that intervened instead of Odysseus as the nurse said. Penelope finally agrees to go down and see what happened to the suitors for herself. She sees Odysseus there, but still does not believe it is him. Telemakhos gets angry at Penelope for not believing it is his father and welcoming him right away. After Penelope said the visitor could have Odysseusπ bed, but that it would be moved outside the bedroom, Odysseus got mad at her too. Penelope finally believed it was Odysseus after he revealed information about the building of the bed, details that only he could have known. She then asks for his forgiveness (quote).

This quote and actions by Penelope shows what kind of person she is. She is like Odysseus in some ways - she does not automatically trust people, but is cautious. (In her own words she says no one is more cautious than Odysseus.) She was very patient when she first saw Odysseus, and waited to determine if it was truly him. She resisted the temptation to run to him and give in to her emotions, like Odysseus and his resistance to the sirens. Because of all the imposters and tricks that people and gods have played, Penelope was right to be skeptical.

" My dear nurse," said Penelope, "do not exualr too confidently over all this. You know how deligted every one would be  to see Odyssey come hom- more particularly myself, and the son who has been born to both of us;but what you tell me cannotbe really true. It is some god who is angry with the sutiors for thei great wickednedd, and has made an end of them: fotr they have respected no man in the whole world, neither rich nor poor, who came near them, and they have come to a abad end in consequwnce of their inquity. Odyssey is dead far away from the Achaean land: he will never return home again." I thin kthis quote is great because in the begin in like book 1 Penelope believed that her husband was alive she did not come right out and say it but she had too. If she didnt believe he was still alive then why would she have not remarried or why would she kepp spinning then un spinning. I tell you why becasuse something deep down inside her is telling her that he is alive.Now right when the nurse told her he was there i would have not questioned it. I would have went to go see for my self, but she wants to be stupid and qestion it. she should of went to see for herself. just think it is so funny becasue these caracters are nothing like me but thats what makes me like the story more to see how other people would handle silly situations.

≥Wake, wake up, dear child! Penelope, come down, see with your own eyes what all these years you longed for! Odysseus is here! Oh, in the end, he came! And he has killed your suitors, killed them all who made his house a bordel and ate his cattle and raised their hands against his son!≤ (pg. 429 l 5-12) The old nurse went up stairs quickly and cried out that Odysseus had returned. Penelope did not believe what the nurse was telling her. She thought that she was mocking her and waking her up from her deep tranquil sleep that she had not had since Odysseus had gone away. The nurse insisted that she was telling the truth, that she would not lie to Penelope and that Odysseus had killed the suitors, gathered the corpses, cleaned the hall and then sent her to tell Penelope. She insisted that Penelope go downstairs so that they could be happy together after years of pain. ≥I am stunned, child, I cannot speak to him. I cannot question him. I cannot keep my eyes upon his face. If really he is Odysseus, truly home, beyond all doubt we two shall know each other better than you or anyone. There are secret signs we know, we two≤(pg 432 l.119-125) Telemachos felt that his mother was being cruel because she didnπt talk to Odyssesu when she saw him but Penelope explained that she was pretty much in shock and could not talk to him or even look at him. It had been so many years since he left and he was gone for so long and she thought that he was dead. It must have been unreal to see him again. I donπt blame Penelope for not believing that he had returned because it had been so many years. She had to go through so much. She had to deal with him leaving in the first place, worrying about him while he was gone, facing the fact that he might be dead, and then finally see him again.