Double Standard for Women of the Odyssey
Odysseus plans to tiptoe back into his hall through various schemes, one of which is to become beneficial and amiable to the maidservants. With this motivation, he offers to guard the hearth so that the fire won’t dwindle, but the response he receives is more than unwelcoming. Melantho, a beneficiary of Penelope, spurns him saying:
You must be crazy, punch drunk, you old goat.
Instead of going out to find a smithy—or a tavern bench—you stay
putting your oar in, amid all our men.
Numbskull not to be scared! The wine you drank
has clogged your brain, or are you always this way,
boasting like a fool? Or have you
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(18.405-15).
Unexpectedly and unconventional for his character, Odysseus says: “One minute: let me tell Telemakhos how you talk in hall, you slut; he’ll cut your arms and legs off” (18.416-20). “This hard shot took the women’s breath away and drove them quaking to their rooms, as though knives were behind: they felt he spoke the truth” (18.421-23).
From the perspective of Melantho, her reason to believe the hungry bellied pariah, Odysseus, seems unclear. There seems to be a lapse in her reasoning. Since the old beggar’s arrival at Odysseus’ estate, Telemakhos—not ever publicly acknowledging the hunched-over man's entry—appears to wholly neglect him. Intimidated by the suitors’ death threats and revealing Odysseus’ identity, the only way out for Telemakhos, the sole means of retaining influence over his mother’s suitors, is to distance himself from the man whom he would want most to be close to, his father. More than merely a survival tactic, however, it is a strategy for Odysseus to find loyalists among the group. Thus the main focus of Telemakhos in this scene is not to side with his father, not to stand up for his guest, but to stay alive, to remain aloof and unobtrusive, and to allow Odysseus’ plan to come into
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Compounding her disgraceful spectacle involving Eurymakhos and her lack of compunction for her mistress, Melantho, in particular, and the remaining slave women, who corrupted Penelope’s suitors, feel self-consciousness for their deeds. During most of the moments of the day, they envision the ax that will soon end their lives. When Melantho hears Odysseus’ threat, she realizes that Telemakhos will “cut her arms and legs off” not simply owing to this beggar’s accusation, but because she already treads in deep water and any inadequacy or faux pas on her part will assure her death. For Melantho, her speech is merely the key that finally seals her self-subverting fate.
Claiming that Melantho presumed Telemakhos to consider Odysseus a “guest” in terms of ancient Greek hospitality and custom and, therefore, the women “felt he spoke the truth” would downplay Homer’s legendary depiction of personality shift and character mutability of Odysseus in The Odyssey. According to Okham’s Razor there is a large possibility that all the aforementioned interpretations are for naught, if the simple answer is best and final. The careful reader, however, will disregard Okham momentarily to pursue more than meets the
The Odyssey: Portrayal of Women How does Homer portray women in the epic, The Odyssey? In order to answer this question you must look at woman and goddesses as two separate groups of people who are "people". This is because they are portrayed in two separate ways. You see, a regular woman like Penelope is looked at as beautiful but has.
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For the Greeks, Homer's Odyssey was much more than just an entertaining tale of gods, monsters, and men, it served as cultural paradigm from which every important role and relationship could be defined. This book, much more so than its counter part The Iliad, gives an eclectic view of the Achean's peacetime civilization. Through Odyssey, we gain an understanding of what is proper or improper in relationships between father and son, god and mortal, servant and master, guest and host, and--importantly--man and woman. Women play a vital role in the movement of this narrative. Unlike in The Iliad, where they are chiefly prizes to be won, bereft of identity, the women of Odyssey are unique in their personality, intentions, and relationship towards men. Yet, despite the fact that no two women in this epic are alike, each--through her vices or virtues-- helps to delineate the role of the ideal woman. Below, we will show the importance of Circe, Calypso, Nausicaa, Clytaemestra, and Penelope in terms of the movement of the narrative and in defining social roles for the Ancient Greeks.
The women in The Odyssey are a fair representation of women in ancient Greek culture. In his work, Homer brings forth women of different prestige. First there are the goddesses, then Penelope, and lastly the servant girls. Each of the three factions forms an important part of The Odyssey and helps us look into what women were like in ancient Greece.
...him away, assuring him that he cannot escape death. A humbled Gilgamesh returns to Uruk and orders his story to be inscribed in stone.
Women play an influential role in The Odyssey. Women appear throughout the story, as goddesses, wives, princesses, or servants. The nymph Calypso enslaves Odysseus for many years. Odysseus desires to reach home and his wife Penelope. It is the goddess Athena who sets the action of The Odyssey rolling; she also guides and orchestrates everything to Odysseus’ good. Women in The Odyssey are divided into two classes: seductresses and helpmeets. By doing so, Homer demonstrates that women have the power to either hinder of help men. Only one woman is able to successfully combine elements of both classes: Penelope. She serves as a role model of virtue and craftiness. All the other women are compared to and contrasted with Penelope.
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In the era of Homer, women played a very specific role in society, and even in literature. Women of this time were basically put in a box, and expected to never step out of line. If they did go against the arbitration of men, then they were faced with serious consequences. However, female characters play a huge role in both aiding, and delaying Odysseus’s journey home. I will proceed to analyze, and interpret the actions and intentions of every major female character in The Odyssey.
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The women presented throughout The Odyssey provide a respectable representation of women in ancient Greece in general. There are several women introduced in The Odyssey, all of various backgrounds and social classes. The most notable women or type of women in this epic include goddesses, Penelope, and the housemaids and servants.
Sociologist … explained that open pattern of suburb is because of seeking environment free noise, dirt and overcrowding that are in the centre of cities. He gave examples of these cities as St. John’s wood, Richmond, Hampstead in London. Chestnut Hill and Germantown in Philadelphia. He added that suburban are only for the rich and high class. This plays into the hands of the critical perspectives that, “Cities are not so much the product of a quasi-natural “ecological” unfolding of social differentiation and succession, but of a dynamic of capital investment and disinvestment. City space is acted on primarily as a commodity that is bought and sold for profit, “(Little & McGivern, 2013, p.616).