Answer:
The country wives would hold me in dishonor.
Explanation:
In "The Odyssey", Penelope is the wife of Odysseus and the mother of Telemachus. This book depicts her as the epitome of a faithful wife, who devises plans to be faithful t her husband even during his long absence.
Odysseus had gone on a voyage that kept him away from his home for more than two decades. During his absence, men from his court, had tried to marry Penelope, saying that her husband had died and it's needed for the kingdom to have a new king. But she devised a plan to distract and delay the suitors' attempts, using the shroud she's weaving for her father-in-law as an excuse. She has been weaving a burial shroud for Odyssey's father Leartes, and saying that if she doesn't finish it and marry someone else, she will be frowned upon by the womenfolk. This weaving is an important part of Greek tradition. It's like her duty and responsibility as a daughter-in-law. And so, even the suitors did not object to her suggestion.
But Penelope managed to fool the men, weaving during the day and un-weaving it at night. She did this for three years until one of her unfaithful maids revealed the secret to the suitors. She had been crafty to delay the suitors' advances by three years, by herself, a woman.
