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Powerful female characters in the Odyssey
Powerful female characters in the Odyssey
Role of female characters in Odyssey
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Building blocks of humanity, not praised enough, and incredibly clever are just some ways women can be described. In the Odyssey by Homer, women were submissive but smart. With being submissive but smart, comes many hardships women had to endure. From a feminist perspective, the bias against women and their clever ways play an important role in the epic poem.
To begin, the women in the Odyssey had bias against them because of their gender. To start off, Calypso’s, a goddess nymph, argument was when goddesses sleep with mortals, its frowned upon but its fine for good to do it. To support her argument, she says, “Hard-hearted you are gods! You unrivaled lords of jealousy-scandalized when goddesses sleep with mortals” (Book 5 line 132). In her
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defense, she did nothing wrong when she was holding Odysseus captive. This situation shows the bias women had against them because they were these “awful” mistresses, while it was perfectly okay for men. When Atrides talks about his situation with his wife saying, “I tell you this – bear it in mind, you must – bear it in mind, you must – when you reach your homeland steer your ship into port in secret, never out in the open... the time for trusting women’s gone forever!” (Book 11 line 518). Atrides uses his one bad experience with his wife to characterize all women which is bias against other women. One broad example is that the women are mainly seen as caretakers. Homer repeats many times how they bathe men (Book 10 line 495) and serve the food. (Book 1 line 160). Throughout the epic, those are the main roles they play. To summarize, women had unfair bias against them because of the gender. In addition, an important role in the epic poem was the women’s clever, smart ways.
To begin, Athena played a major role when it came to helping Odysseus and Telemachus. One way she helps Odysseus is when she disguises him as a beggar to help overthrow the suitors. “My changing so? Athena’s work, the Fighter’s Queen – she has that power, she makes me look as she likes, now like a beggar, the next moment a young man, decked out in handsome clothes about my body” (Book 16 lines 237-240). Many other times throughout the epic she helps disguise him. This example shows how smart she was because she’s able to help odysseys trick the people he encounters. Penelope, Odysseus’s love sick wife, was very clever when it came to not getting married to a suitor. One example is her yarn scheme she plays with the suitors. When Antinous says, “So by day she’d weave at her great and growing web – by night, by the light of torches set beside her, see would unravel all she’d done” (Book 2 lines 116-118). It shows her cleverness in how to not marry the suitors. Homer stresses this important when he repeats the same line again how Penelope unravels the yarn. (Book 24 lines 152-155). Another example of Penelope’s clever ways is when she makes the challenge impossible so no suitor can marry her. “the goddess Athena with her blazing eyes inspired Penelope, Icarius’ daughter, wary, poised, to set the bow and the gleaming iron axes out before her suitor waiting in Odysseus’ hall to test their skill
and bring their slaughter on” (Book 21 lines 1-5). To conclude, these two women were clever in their own ways but still contributed to the epic poem. In conclusion, the women’s’ intelligence and the bias against their gender plays a significant role in the epic. When many men look down upon women, women begin to think more which leads to them being more aware and wiser than one would think. Without their determinations and knowledgeable minds, this epic poem would be completely different.
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.
The women were generally less defined than the men, but that is due to the fact that none of the women could be considered main characters, except perhaps Penelope. The woman all served a point, and were there to add to the plot or to compliment another character, like Penelope and Odysseus’s connection. Homer wrote women to help the plot along, but not be a major point or character themselves. The women are very important to the Odyssey, and the poem would not of been able to read the way it did if the women played no role. The poem illustrates women as important people, but only for the sake of a man. Homer wrote according to the greeks pyramid of social standing, where women were lower than men, but he still allowed women greater roles, and even gave them important tasks to fulfill, like Penelope and her suitors, or Helen and her elopement with Prince
Judged by modern Western standards, the treatment of women by men in Homer's Odyssey can be characterized as sexist. Women in Homer's Odyssey are judged mainly by their looks. If important men and gods consider a woman beautiful, or if her son or husband is a hero or has an important position such as king, the woman is successful. The way women in The Odyssey are treated is based on appearance, the things men want from them, and whether the woman has any power over men. During Odysseus' journey to the underworld he sees many different types of women. We hear about their beauty, their important sons, or their affairs with gods. We hear nothing about these women's accomplishments in their lifetime. Odysseus tells how Antiope could "boast a god for a lover,"(193) as could Tyro and many other women. Epikaste was called "that prize"(195) her own son unwittingly married.
Such a society obviously places severe restrictions on the position of women and what is considered to be acceptable behaviour for women”. (Whittaker 39) Penelope is forced to step out of the typical Homeric Greek woman role in order to make sure Odysseus has a success homecoming. She does this by proving to be clever, like her husband, when she tricks the suitors, claiming that she will choose one once she finishes a burial shroud for Laertes. Every night she undoes the weaving she has done for the day. This works until some of her house servants catch her. Another example of this trickery, is her promise to marry any suitor that can string and shoot Odysseus 's bow. Penelope knew no one but Odysseus could do this. There are many different interpretations of Penelope 's role as a woman in this moment of the epic. Homer has Penelope show a role that isn’t what you would normally see in a Homeric Greek woman. She depicts that she can be just as manipulative as a man can
Homer's great epic, "The Odyssey" was written several thousands of years ago, a time in human history when men played the dominant role in society. The entire structure of civilization was organized and controlled by men; It was an accepted fact that women held an inferior position in society. Society was constructed as if women were around only to serve the men. The involvement of women in any circumstance was almost completely dominated by what the men allowed. The women were valued in society, only they were not given important roles or any decision making power. It is as if they held no power in the ancient Greek society. This is why Homer's Odyssey is very unique, Homer put women into roles that were previously unheard of for women to possess. Unlike in The Iliad, where women served merely as an object to men; female characters of Odyssey are distinctive because they possess personality, and have intricate relationships with the male characters of the Odyssey. By characterizing the women in "The Odyssey", a reader may come to some conclusions about the role of women in this epic. Along with the belief that women played a secondary role to men in society, the female characters displayed certain traits that could not be exhibited by the men. Athena demonstrated the most intelligence and valor out of all the characters in "The Odyssey." The male characters play the most significant roles in this epic, but without the support of the females in "The Odyssey", Odysseus would not have made it through his journey.
Before we delve into the traits of individual characters, it is important to understand certain assumptions about women that prevailed in the Homeric Age. By modern standards, the Ancient Greeks would be considered a rabidly misogynistic culture. Indeed, the notoriously sour Boetian playwright Hesiod-- who wrote about fifty years before Homer-- proclaimed "Zeus who thunders on high made women to be an evil to mortal men, with a nature to do evil (Theogony 600)." While this view may have been extreme even for the Greeks, they were convinced of the physical and intellectual inferiority of women. Thus, they believed that it was better for all--...
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.
Athena and Calypso are the most significant goddesses presented in The Odyssey. While Athena embodies both feminine and not so feminine traits, Calypso embodies the sexual nature of women and the thought and feelings of sexualized women. Calypso, for example, sheds light on the double standards that exist between gods and goddesses: “Hard-hearted you are, you gods! You unrivaled lords of jealousy- scandalized when
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.
In the Homer's epic poem the Odyssey, there are many themes that serve to make a comment about the meanings of the story. The theme of women in the poem serves to make these comments but also establishes a point of view on women in the reader. From this point of view, a perspective is developed into the "best" and "worst" in women. Achievement of this is through the characterization of many women with single notable evil qualities. Similar to the biblical story of Adam and Eve, Eve like the many women in the Odyssey brings about pain and suffering for mankind. Contrary to the depicting of women as roots of evil, the reader sees the other traits of women that are most desirable. The roles of these women are achieved by their portrayal throughout the poem. This in return has a significant affect on how the poem and the message that is conveyed.
“A woman cannot be herself in the society of the present day, which is an exclusively masculine society, with laws framed by men and with a judicial system that judges feminine conduct from a masculine point of view” (Ibsen). This saying also applied to the times of the Odyssey, an epic constructed by the blind, eight century B.C.E. poet, Homer. As one of the few representatives of ancient Greek social order, the blind, Homer witnessed women as substandard to men, regardless of their actions; many of them existed as seductresses, prostitutes, or slaves. He engraved into his poem women’s roles; the roles of women, as mothers, wives, seductresses, and goddesses are exemplified in this epic, when shown in comparison to the men of that era.
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.
Though not the focus of epic poetry, the female characters of this ancient genre play a central role, as they have a great influence on the male heroes they encounter. In a genre which idealizes manliness and heroism—that is, acts of courage, strength, and cunning— women are set in opposition to these ideals and therefore less respected. At the same time, women who attempt to take on more “masculine” roles are vilified. Here, antagonist is defined as anyone in opposition to the hero’s goals. Female agency—their free will and ability to wield power—is directly related to their role in epic poetry; that is, the more agency a female character has, the more antagonistic of a role she plays. This agency is often enacted through sexuality or supernatural
Greek tragedy incorporates female characters that symbolize women in Ancient Greece. Through the portrayal of Antigone in the playwright, Antigone in Antigone by Sophocles and Penelope in the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, these two women play opposing roles depicting how they appear to society through their actions. In both of these stories, they embody the ideals of passionate women who are very loyal and brave. Through other female characters in each story such as Penelope and Ismene, we can construct a better view of traits illustrated by Antigone and Penelope.
Women and Power in the Odyssey In The Odyssey, by the Greek poet Homer, we follow the epic hero Odysseus as he attempts and succeeds to return back home after being gone for twenty years battling in the Trojan war. Throughout his journey, odysseus interacts with many different women throughout the story. Some help him, some set him back. Some of these women include Athena, the goddess of war, Penelope, Odysseus’ loyal and patient wife, and Circe, the sorceress who turned Odysseus’ crew into swine and held him captive for a year.