The Great Depression had many adverse effects on the entire country of the United States in the late 1920s and into the 1930s. With the stock market crash of 1929, the country's economic status took a turn for the worst, and the society plummeted into a time of despair, poverty, and unemployment. The role of women changed drastically during this time, from simple homemaker to hard worker and, sometimes, provider. They had to learn how to cut back and make do with what they had, or else do without. “Make it do, or do without” became a popular slogan of the time. Eleanor Roosevelt wrote a book entitled It's Up to the Women, which was mainly written to show women how to pull the country through the economic crisis of the time. Many women were forced to drastically cut the household budget so that they would have enough money to survive. Because the household income was so low, a woman needed to be able to feed a whole family of six with simply $5 a week. Despite the rapid decline of household income, some families were able to somewhat sustain their standard of living because the women of the house substituted their own labor for goods or services which were previously purchased. Because there was so much unemployment, the men had very few work hours. Naturally, because men were favored over women, one would think that this meant even less work for the women. There was much job discrimination, because many thought that women were working simply for fun or out of boredom and not to support their families. In spite of this, however, by 1940 25% of all American families were run and provided for by a sole female “head of the household,” with no man present. The Great Depression was a time when the numbers of women in the work force actually increased. Marriage rates, however, dropped rapidly during the Great Depression, both because of lack of finances to afford a wedding, and because of the strain the economy put on families. As Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in her book It's Up to the Women: “The women know that life must go on and that the needs of life must be met and it is their courage and determination which, time and again, have pulled us through worse crises than the present one.”
The character of Penny in O Brother, Where Art Thou? portrays a typical woman of the Great Depression era, simply trying to make ends meet. Women during the Great Depression were close to last on the totem pole to receive a job. So to find a source of steady income, especially without a husband, was close to impossible. In the film, Penny's husband has been imprisoned, so she has no source of income or any way to support her family. Because of this, Penny decides that she has to move on and do what she believes is best for her and her family. By getting engaged to Vernon Waldrip, she is guaranteed some sort of financial stability, which was crucial in those difficult times. She constantly stresses that he is “bona fide,” which is Latin for “good faith,” one thing that Ulysses, her previous husband, certainly is not. Ulysses is on a kind of “pilgrimage” back to his “home.” The term “home” in this case is referring to a place where is everything is right, proper, and comfortable. In this case, the comfort would be with oneself. He has to become bona fide – a man of good faith. This means that he has to choose to do the right thing, both morally and ethically, but especially when it comes to his family, in order to gain that true sense of “home.” Penny's actions disowning Ulysses and moving on quickly, lying to her daughters about their father's actual whereabouts, and jumping into a marriage with a “bona fide” man, could all be seen as selfish actions but in reality they are acts of survival in hard times. Because of the economic status of the country at that time, it would make sense for her to act this way so that her family could get by.
Both Penny in O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Penelope in The Odyssey are strong women who are simply trying to do what is best for their families. Because O Brother, Where Art Thou? is based on The Odyssey, Penny and Penelope are essentially the same character, and yet they differ in many ways. In The Odyssey, Penelope is determined to stay faithful to Odysseus by not marrying one of the suitors, and waiting on him to return. In contrast, in O Brother, Where Art Thou? Penny is very quick to forget about Ulysses and move on to her “suitor.” She told her daughters that Ulysses was dead, and did not care about staying faithful to him. Both women are similar, however, in what kind of man they wanted. Penelope is also looking for a man who is bona fide, much like Penny. Unfortunately, though, none of the suitors act “in good faith,” but she is ultimately faced with the need to marry one of them. At first, Penelope thinks it is best to remain faithful to Odysseus and not marry a suitor because she believes Odysseus and still alive, and that he can best provide for their family. Later in the story whenever she decides to go ahead and hold the contest, she is acting in the best interest of her family because she is forced to come to terms with the fact that Odysseus is probably not coming back, and that she has to have some sort of financial support. The suitors are bona fide financially, so to speak, as is Vernon Waldrip. Really though, this isn't quite enough for either women. Even though both of their characters differ in how they handled the situations with their husbands, they both were essentially trying to do what was best for their families.
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