Ideal Women In The Odyssey

In The Odyssey, Homer paints a picture of not only how a man should act, but how a woman should act. A woman must be good, and to be good she must have no faults whatsoever. To be a true Greek woman, she must be perfect in every way. Homer's misogynistic view on women is that women have to be so full of virtue that they have no substance. These women of no substance are deemed as ideal because they have no foreseeable flaws. Homer illustrates this in not only the mortal women, but among the goddesses, and overall “higher powers”. The ideal woman is pure of mind and cooperative to all, but ultimately these standards make these women devoid of character.

For a woman to be pure, she must first be be faithful. This contrasts deeply between Klytaimnestra,

who runs away with her lover, to Helen, who runs away from her husband, but not by choice. Although Klytaimnestra is at first faithful to her husband, she caves when: “her lover tricked the poet and marooned him on a bare island for seabirds’ picking” (III.291). Klytaimnestra eventually succumbs to what men expect of her. She is manipulated by a man so that he can have more power over her. Her lover is not truly her lover, he is just another man trying to use a woman as a puppet for what men want. Helen runs away from her husband but she “repented the mad day Aphrodite drew me away from my dear fatherland, forsaking all - child, bridal bed, and husband” (IV.281). Helen is another woman who is supposed to be used for the advantage of men. She, essentially, is manipulated by a woman: Aphrodite. Homer’s sexist view on women is that they are supposed to be manipulated by men that they become lacking of any actual substance. To become an ideal woman is to become a puppet. A good woman is a faithful woman, one who can be used to men’s advantage.
A pure woman is an honest woman. However, women are not usually seen as honest, although Homer’s men are always ready to believe that a woman will be honest, because they believe that women are puppets ready to obey them. Penelope is first believed by the suitors to be true in her wanting to marry them: “We have men’s hearts; she touched them” (II.111). The suitors believe that women are so pure that they would never deceive them, though in the course of the book, women deceive men over and over again. Ultimately Homer’s men think that women are so pure, so readily available to do their bidding, that they are only there to be used for their advantage. Agamemnon is deceived by his own wife, and she murdered him so he feels that “the day of faithful wives is gone forever” (XI.535). Agamemnon condemns all women, based on the actions of one woman. He is murdered by a wife he expected to be true to him. He believed she would be pure, because women are expected by men to be tokens to be used to their advantage. The honesty that is supposed to be so readily available in a woman is not often found, making yet another unattainable goal for women.
A part of that purity that should be within a woman, lies within the fact that she must be a sexless being. This applies to mortal women, and to the immortal women who think their standards are different. Aphrodite is not exempt from the purity that comes with being chaste, she is part of the “passionate lovers...so lovely, and so wanton” (VIII.334). Homer makes sure that not only Aphrodite, but all women are shamed for having sexuality. Essentially he says it is none but her fault from straying from her husband, and wishing for sex. Homer sets the rule that a woman should feel shamed for her sexual acts, that she should shame her body. This sexist view ultimately determines that women who take pleasure in their sexuality must be wholly evil. This is yet another one of the standards that sucks out any actual substance out of a woman, robbing women of their own sexuality. Kirke, once she realizes Odysseus cannot be defeated by her charms proposes that they “mingle and make love upon our bed” (X.376). The only thing on the mind of Kirke, the sorceress who scoffs at men, is sex. So, to Homer, a woman who has need of sex, like Kirke, must not be a good woman. What seems so strange about Kirke, is that her immediate reaction to a man who can best her, is that she must forsake her purity. So, naturally, a woman who cannot withhold the lust that lies inside her is immoral. Her sexuality, one thing that is an integral part of not only women, but men, is shown by Homer as being something wrong. To Homer, one must take out what truly makes a human, to get the ideal woman. He sets an example that a woman with a need for sex must truly not be a good woman. This sexist view that all women who crave sex are immoral is insulting, reducing a woman's sexuality to be something that is wrong. Homer determines that women have to be pure, that lust is what will stray women from the path of righteousness.
Obedience is a value that must be within a woman. She must be cooperative. Mortal and immortal women must obey not only a higher power, but men in general. Kalypso is at first reluctant to let go Odysseus, but Hermes makes her comply because she must have “obedience, or else be chastised by Zeus” (V.153). Truly, Kalypso would have had Odysseus all to herself, if not for the goading on of men, and the seemingly perfect Athena. Obedience makes it that a woman has no power, and it denies her of being an actual individual with thoughts and responsibilities. Truly, Homer believes that women should have no substance whatsoever, making them comply to whatever men say they should do. Zeus gives Athena orders even though she “needed no command” (XXIV.540). Athena, at times, seems almost exempt from what is typically seen in Homer’s women, but she, too must obey a higher power. This misogyny makes clear that no matter how a woman may seem, she must have her decisions made by others, so she too, can become a mouthpiece for a man. Telemakhos, too, holds power over a seemingly perfect woman because “I am master here” (XXI.397). Homer believes that a woman has to be controlled, because she is simply not good enough to make her own decision. This gets rid of any power a woman might have; Homer ultimately makes sure women become nothing but puppets for the higher power that is man. This misogynistic view of women makes them seen as weak, and unable to make their own decisions, therefore men must make decisions for them. The ideal woman must be obedient, but only for her own protection, lest she become a person of actual substance.
On top of the ever-growing list of the ideal woman, she must be helpful. Homer shows that women must help others, especially men. Women are seen to be the ones that need the most guidance, although it seems rather ironic that they seem to be helping men. Ino helps Odysseus, but he sees it as “a ruse to trick me from the boat” (V.369). To Odysseus, a real woman would not want to help him, because since he is man, he can surely handle it by himself. Odysseus would make it seem that Ino is just helping him because of Poseidon’s plan, because to him, women are no more than a puppet for men's true motives. Homer demonstrates that women are the ones who help because they obey men and the gods. He creates a paradox, essentially saying women should help, but more often than not, their help will be dismissed because men believe women are controlled by others. Odysseus again is wary of another woman giving him a helping hand: “O goddess, what guile is hidden here?” (V.183). Odysseus seems mighty skeptical of a woman’s helping hand, yet the only thing that has kept him alive is the help of a female goddess named Athena. He seems wary of all other help that comes his way, as he seemingly thinks that any other help is part of some man’s ulterior motives. Of course, this must be part of a ruinous plan, because women are to be manipulated by men; women are pawns. A woman is supposed to be a helping hand, yet she is always met with skepticism for all her kindnesses, because Homer believes every woman is controlled by a man.
Another part of woman’s cooperation with the almighty force of man is that she too must be dependent on man.

All women, no matter if they are a goddess, nymph, or mortal woman, have to be kept in check by a man, or else they will fall to villainy which comes with any sort of woman who has an actual mind of her own. Kalypso lives alone, the “mistress of the isle” (V.63). Homer makes a woman in power solitary, not pushed about by the orders of a man. In essence, this is what makes a woman a villainess: her independence. What makes a woman good, in Homer's mind, is her ability to be manipulated by a man. For a woman who dares think for herself must be immoral. To him, a woman needs to depend on a man, because the worst thing that could happen is if they are left to their own devices. Homer establishes Nausikaa as a good woman, who, to get anything done, must first “beg thy sovereign father” (VI.41). Nausikaa, ultimately seen as one of Homer’s two pure mortal women, is entirely dependent upon her father. Another mouthpiece to a man, stripping her of any actual mind of her own. Truly, to be a good woman, you must first be dependent on a man. The misogyny that comes along with Homer's “fact” that the ever-flawed woman must be at the mercy of the man illustrates Homer’s backwards view on how a woman should act. He essentially says that to be a true woman, you must be devoid of what is normally seen as human nature. These women must be cooperative to all men, lest they think, or have any actual mind of their own. The ideal woman must be entirely dependent upon men, because of the sexist view that women will fall to danger without a man supporting

them.
Homer makes his good, pure women lacking in any actual human characteristics. To him, a woman must essentially be held to impossibly high standards that make a woman simply a tool to be used for men's advantage. His misogynistic idea that woman must simply be a mouthpiece for a man has no place in this day and age, much less in his own time. Women have always been a force to be reckoned with, and they should never be held to a standard so impossibly high it strips them of any human characteristics. Truly, today's women are still held to higher standards than men. Women must continue to break down the walls of what is typically considered how we should act, for women are not a puppet to be used to men's advantage. Homer's standards for what makes a woman are not applicable. Homer's ideal that women must be pure and cooperative essentially makes Homer's standards for what makes a women get rid of all that is human in a woman.