Antinous criticizes Penelope's cunning.

After hearing Telemachus's plea, the people at the assembly were silent. No one tried to respond with harsh words, but only Antinoos, one of the suitors, spoke back to him. Antinoos blamed Penelope, Telemachus's mother, saying that the suitors were not at fault, but rather she was the problem. He said that Penelope had been leading each suitor on by sending messengers and raising their hopes, while secretly intending to postpone marriage.

In the story of Antinoos, Penelope asked the suitors to wait until she finished weaving a large cloth for the funeral rites of Odysseus's father, Laertes. However, she wove during the day and lit torches at night to unravel what she had woven. She deceived the suitors with this trick for three years, but in the fourth year, one of the women revealed the secret, and the suitors saw Penelope unravelling the cloth. Antinoos says that Penelope finally finished weaving, although it was against her will.

There, the suitors asked Telemachus to send his mother away, and to marry her to a man whom his father would command, and who she herself would approve of. Antinous threatened that if Penelope continued to delay, they would consume Telemachus's property. He also said that the goddess Athena had given Penelope beautiful skills in needlework, excellent thoughtfulness, and strategy.

Antinoos mentioned Tyro, Alkemene, and Mykene as wise women of the past, and said that none of them could compare to Penelope. However, as long as Penelope continues to think this way, the suitors will continue to consume Telemachus's property. While Penelope gains fame, Telemachus is left with the suffering of losing his wealth. The suitors will not leave the house until she marries an Achaean man of her own choosing – thus Antinoos concluded his speech.