The role of women in the odyss

homing pigeon wrote the classic epic The Odyssey more than 2,500 forms ago. At that powder magazine holder in ancient Greek society, as head as in the whole of the ancient world, the overabundant fiber was play by work force. Society was organized, directed, and controlled by work force, and it was sincere that wo custody occupied a subservient and inferior position. Women, of course, were valued, scarce were holded to birth reliable traits and perform trustworthy tasks that men demanded of them. Does mark’s makeup in The Odyssey support or refute the special K vox populi of his clock time regarding women? home run endorsed the dominating belief of his time concerning women by treating the effeminate characters unequ ally and differently compargond to the virile characters in The Odyssey. By examining the women of The Odyssey one comes to one conclusion ab by women in Homer’s epic. Homer’s young-begetting(prenominal) characters in The Odyssey consistently hardened women differently and unequally passim The Odyssey. Concurrent with the time’s belief that women held a subservient position in society to men, the male characters in The Odyssey a prominent deal conveyed trusted traits and actions that they didn’t expect from men. Also all the societies and lands Odysseus visited that were dwell by mortals were rule by men. In The Odyssey women are unequal, treated differently, and are considered inferior to men. Through reveal the epic women are not wedded an appropriate amount of respect by men. The male characters of The Odyssey expect certain traits and characteristics of women that they do not expect of themselves. men expect that the women in The Odyssey be stanch to them, and not be extracurricular or seductive. When Odysseus returns to Ithaca in disguise, he expects genus Penelope to be fold and fast(a) to him. It is doubtful that Odysseus would collect stayed with Penelope if he had bring her to be unfaithful and adulter! ous when he was gone. This was while Odysseus had slept with Circe and stayed with her on her island for one course and past slept with fairy-slipper legion(predicate) times on the island of Ogygia. What makes this even worse is that Penelope would have had exculpation to be unfaithful to Odysseus and re hook up with. As far as Penelope, and close to everyone else on Ithaca, was pertain Odysseus was dead. Penelope had a strong requisite for a husband, a companion, a strong man to chemical formula Ithaca in Odysseus’ place, and a male presence to help found Telemachus. despite the position that Penelope would have been justified in winning another husband, it is questionable whether Odysseus would have been able to liberate her if she had remarried. However, Odysseus, aft(prenominal) encountering his mother, Anticleia, in Hades and discovering that Penelope was up to now existing and faithful to him, he settle down slept with Calypso! When he conseq uently returned to Ithaca and was reunited with Penelope, he told her of his encounters with Circe and Calypso without hesitation or shame!         another(prenominal) fount of how the rules and expectations for women did not apply to men in The Odyssey is when Eumaeus, the loyal swine herder of Odysseus, recounts how he came to Ithaca as a captive of a break ones back woman, Phoinikia. This woman was seduced by a roaming seafarer who, “…make such love to her as women in their frailty are busted by, even the best of them.” The god Artemis later kills Phoinikia for her “treachery.” Odysseus is doing vigor awry(p) when, despite knowing his wife was alive and faithful, commits criminal communication with two other women. However, it would most correspondingly be unforgivable to Odysseus if Penelope had been unfaithful and remarried not knowing whether her husband was still alive, and desperately needing a husband. Male seduc ers are represented by boys sowing their oats; a norm! al part of male life. Seduced females are viewed, however, as weak, frail, and treacherous. These examples accosts volumes about Homer’s view regarding the inequalities between men and women in his epic.         Many times throughout The Odyssey men chat condescendingly to women. Several examples can be cited that show the suitors language angrily about Penelope. The suitors first accuse Penelope of carry them on. Then on pg. 449 Amphimedon explains to Agamemnon in Hades the trickery and finesse of Penelope: “Here is one of her tricks: she placed her loom, her big loom, out for weaving in the hall…and she said to us: ‘ teen men, my suitors, how my is dead, let me finish my weaving before I splice…’ So every day she wove on the great loom, alone every night by torchlight she unwove it, and so for three year’s she deceived the Akhaians.”         Despite the accompaniment that PenelopeR 17;s piazza was being invaded by these suitors, they were stealing her food and wine, and destroying her life, the suitors had the audacity to shoot the breeze that Penelope was the one to deceive and trick them. In fact it was the suitors who were doing wrong to Penelope. However, because Penelope is a women the suitors felt they had the right to do as they please.

At virtually points even Penelope’s faithful and loyal son Telemachus tattles down to his mother. On pg. 379 Telemachus criticizes Penelope about her manytimes poor judgement, “…my mother is interchangeable that, perverse for all her cleverness; she’d entertain some riff-r! aff, and turn out a solid man.” These examples demonstrate how it is authoritative that men commonly speak disrespect respectabley to women and nothing lead be done. However, if a woman speaks insolently to a man, in that location are severe repercussions. On pg. 347 when the maidservant Melantho speaks impudently to Odysseus when he is still incognito as a beggar, he scolds her fiercely and threatens violence on her, “…let me tell Telemachus how you talk in hall, you slut; he’ll cut your arms and legs slay.” The choke purview of The Odyssey that truly defines the subordinate status of the women in Homer’s epic is the fact that one of the main purposes of all the female characters in The Odyssey, excluding Athene, is to set and please the opposite sex. Penelope follows to coiffure Odysseus as a loyal wife, lover, companion, and mother to Telemachus. every(prenominal) of Odysseus’ maidservants exist to first serve Odysseus, t hen later to serve Telemachus and the suitors. Circe and Calypso exist in the epic to satisfy Odysseus by pleasuring him sexually, indulge him, and treating him like a God. Helen and Arete serve their husbands as loyal wives. virtually nowhere in The Odyssey can one comment a woman doing the same things as a man. No women went off to fight in the Trojan War. There were no female members of Odysseus or Telemachus’ crew, nor do any women participate in the engagement against the suitors. The character traits that make a man great; strength, courage, and lead are lacking in female characters of The Odyssey. end-to-end The Odyssey women were presumption a double-standard. They were expected to act a certain vogue and exhibit certain traits while men had no such limitations. If women did not live up to these standards of behavior, they would be punished. If men bust these same rules nothing would be done. During the time Homer wrote The Odyssey it was the dominan t belief that a society should be dominated by men an! d that women should be subservient to them. This belief is reflected throughout the make-up of Homer in The Odyssey. If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: BestEssayCheap.com

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