Treatment Of Women In The Odyssey

“My lady goddess, here is no cause for anger. My quiet Penelope—how well I know—would seem a shade before your majesty, death and old age being unknown to you, while she must die. Yet, it is true, each day I long for home…”, (Homer 56); (2) To expand, Odyssey always knew that he would get himself home, “She enchants him and wants him to stay and become her husband, but eventually Athena persuades Zeus to command her to let him return to Penelope.”

There are many huge roles to be displayed in society all throughout The Odyssey. The Odyssey was written by Homer and located in Ancient Greece. Women like Athena and Penelope play huge roles that initially help Odysseus throughout his struggles. The role of women in The Odyssey is to show how women could be obstacles, be great helpers, and show how they do it by being cunning. Penelope shows in different ways how she is cunning and loyal throughout the book.

In the poem The Odyssey by Homer the author tells us the story of Odysseus's goal to return to his homeland Ithaca, where he will defeat the rude uncontrollable suitors who are camping in his palace and his main goal is to reunite with his loyal wife Penelope and son Telemachus. In Ancient Greece and in the odyssey men were expected to be masculine and warriors were women were obedient and looked down on. Throughout the story Men are able to entertain and socialize outside of their home and go to work but women stay at home and do housework. From this background information we can infer that The Odyssey by Homer shows that men are valued more due to the fact that men have more sexual freedom then women and are respected more when they have

The Odyssey is an epic pome that shows tragedy that Odysseus and Penelope had to endure. However, Penelope’s pain and suffering was not tantamount Odysseus’. After the completion of the Odyssey, it is evidently clear that Odysseus dealt with far worse struggles and experienced pain that far surpassed Penelope’s. One example of Odysseus’s great struggle is that he experienced the pain of losing his soldiers, which where some of his greatest friends and comrades. Penelope, on the other hand, lost some of her family but Odysseus also suffers through this because they were also his family.

The Odyssey, written by Homer, introduces the idea of gender roles in ancient Greek society by telling the tale of a great hero who encountered many women on his journey. While gender roles in Ancient Greek society were more pronounced, similarities are still present in today's world and issues are ongoing. Despite the indispensable role women play in the story, they still remain undervalued. Preserving the patriarchal ideals of Ancient Greek society. The success of Odysseus's journey can be merely credited to his individual efforts, but rather heavily based on the predominant roles women played in the story who made crucial contributions, but were never given credit.

In the epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, there are many female characters who play the role of a villain. Calypso, Scylla, Charybdis, and the sirens are among the women with the largest, negative impacts on Odysseus’ journey home. Though some women, such as Athena, Eurycleia, and Penelope, are loyal to Odysseus throughout the poem. With such a wide range of female characters, they all contribute different things throughout the book, whether the impact of their actions is negative or positive. Regardless of the outcomes, Homer has quite a modern view of female representation in his poem.

“Go therefore back in the house, and take up your own work, the loom and the distaff, and see to it that your handmaidens ply their work also; but the men must see to discussion, all men, but I most of all. For mine is the power in this household.” Essentially Telemachus is saying that a woman’s role is nothing more than being a housewife, and that the man is the leader and the decision maker. Homer uses mature women to show how even the women who seem to have it all together still have flaws. Penelope is loyal to Odysseus while he is away even though her house is full of suitors who want to marry her, although, she never makes the

“The Odyssey,” written by Greek poet Homer is an epic tale depicting the brutally enduring quest home of the Greek hero, Odysseus. Within this heroic story, women play a very large and pivotal role in Odysseus’s trip home from the Trojan War. In his attempt to get back to his wife, Penelope, Odysseus’s progress is constantly hindered by the intervention of women who will do anything in order to either convince the heroic figure to stay with them or have him killed. The intentions of the women in the epic are all very different but one of the most prominent roles lies in the seductresses and the alluring women who will deeply influence Odysseus. Most importantly, Penelope plays a large role in portraying the importance of women’s roles in the story.

Meanwhile, Penelope is in Ithaka busy dealing with the suitors who vie for her hand in marriage, tending to her loom, and directing her serving maids at work. In Homer’s epic poem, women, and goddesses are treated differently than men and gods when it comes to their freedom, expectations, and image. One common occurrence in this epic poem is unequal freedom for women,

In many societies today, individuals are led to believe that the concept of women possessing their own strength or independence is abnormal. As a result, women experience the world in a constrained way in comparison to men, even if they are in higher classes of society. However, these extensive aspects of females are contradicted in some ancient Greek literature. In the epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer portrays women as a vital and powerful force through the characters Penelope and Circe, who counter the normality of misogyny in Homer’s time. Penelope’s character displays how some women are able to exceed society’s standards and show strength and cleverness when it is necessary.

These women influenced the conditions of the journey by guiding Odysseus in different directions, and aiding him crucially. Their authority showed the idea behind an old proverb, which states, “Behind every great man there’s a great woman”. Throughout The Odyssey, the women exemplified their power during the course of Odysseus’ journey.     Odysseus’ wife, Penelope, bravely held down the front in Ithaca while her husband struggled to find his way back home. In Book 18, Penelope spoke to the ever-so-desperate suitors about what Odysseus “told” her before he left.

Women in The Odyssey Gender roles, specifically of women, were a little different back in 700 B.C. They played more of a typical role, expected to get married and have kids at a young age. They were expected to take care of the house and children, while their husbands were out fighting wars. However, while women in The Odyssey were greatly valued for their beauty, Homer reveals that they also had to be intelligent to be successful in their lives.

In an epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus struggles to come back home while his wife, Penelope, faces barbarous suitors who plague her house to court her for the marriage in order to claim the kingship of Ithaca. With an absence of the man of the household and a son who is not old enough to rule over the country and handle the domestic complications, Penelope endeavors to keep the household orderly and civilized. In order to prevent further chaos in the household, Penelope maintains her role as the Queen of Ithaca and Odysseus’s wife through her loyalty and cunning. For a woman who does not know when her man will return home, Penelope is extremely strong to keep hope and wait for her husband; thus, her unwavering loyalty to her husband

In spite of the fact that Homer’s Odyssey is an epic story of a man’s gallant journey, women play a huge part throughout. Their unique yet controversial personalities, intentions, and relationships are vital to the development of this epic and adventurous journey of Odysseus. The poem by Homer was written at a time when women had an inferior position in society, yet that didn’t stop them from being any less influential. All of the women throughout the Odyssey possess different qualities, but all of them help to define the role of the ideal woman.

The Odyssey by Homer contains multiple moments where female characters are oppressed or fit into a patriarchy, but there are several moments where these character show signs of rebellion against this oppression. Applying a critical lense of feminism to these characters and relationships create complexities and conflicts within the novel that shine meaning on the world. The character Penelope offers many of these moments. Analyzing the actions, situation, and comparisons with other characters using a the feminist critical lense will show a more enriched version of Penelope and offer a deeper insight of the patriarchy, and how is affects the world.