Answer:
After the success of The Outsiders, Hinton chose to continue writing and publishing using her initials, because she did not want to lose what she hadmade famous, and to allow her to keepher private and public lives separate.
Penelope does not recognize Odysseus when he is in his beggar's costume. This is shown through him entering and being in her house, begging, but despite looking at him in the face, she does not know who he is. She references to him as "the stranger" a lot when he appears as a beggar, and seeing as she's been grieving heavily for him, if she were to know it was him, she would go wild.