4 main themes: crying, worry, sadness, and loyalty. :warning:The theme of the poem is basically about the character of Penelope. :!!:
WORRY: The poem says: “wiped my eyes on the corner of my apron”, which describes Penelope as she is crying. Penelope wears an apron, and it's easy to imagine she might be cooking in the kitchen, and might be cutting the onion, which makes her cry. But the poem says: “And your husband has been gone, and you don't know where, for years”, so the biggest possibility that makes her cry is that she misses and worries about her husband.
CRYING & SADNESS: Through the crying part, there’s a comparison between Ulysses and Penelope. The poem says: “Ulysses did this too. But only as a gesture,—a gesture which implied / To the assembled throng that he was much too moved to speak. / He learned it from Penelope… / Penelope, who really cried.” So Penelope is really crying for missing her husband, but Ulysses is pretending to cry.
LOYALTY: If connecting the poem to the plot of the Odyssey, Penelope is completely committed to her husband. She weaves day and night, chasing off the suitors. But Odysseus has an affair with Calypso and Circe, even though he actually doesn’t want to do that. So the poem also talks about loyalty.
