ipl-logo

Examples Of Femininity In The Odyssey

1230 Words5 Pages

Femininity vs. Masculinity : An Internal Balance The Odyssey by Homer tells the story of Odysseus, the king of Ithaca’s treacherous journey home after the Trojan War. Throughout the novel, Odysseus faces and narrowly escapes many perils along with the help of his patron Goddess, Athena. Athena, the goddess of wisdom and craft, serves as a patron goddess to not only Odysseus, but also his family who share his skill in trickery and wisdom. The similar talent in wisdom, deceit, and weaving shared by Odysseus and Penelope allows for a harmonious relationship. Attributes such as deceit and craft are typically considered feminine, and thus Athena, the goddess of these characteristics, is female. Odysseys inherit these feminine traits from Autolycus, …show more content…

Despite the almost constant peril Odysseus faces, he is able to survive due to the balance between strength, a typically masculine characteristic, and his remarkable wisdom and craftiness, feminine attributes. Athena expressed her fondness for Odysseus many times during his adventures. “At the same time Odysseus set off towards the city.
Pallas Athena, harboring kindness for the hero, drifted a heavy mist around him, shielding …show more content…

Penelope’s final feat of deceit takes place once Odysseus has revealed himself as her husband, however she fears it may be a ruse.“Take it out now, sturdy bed that it is,and spread it deep with fleece, blankets and lustrous throws to keep him warm.” (Homer 23.200-203)
Penelope instructs Eurycleia, a servant, to remove the great bed belonging to Penelope and Odysseus, all the while knowing that if Odysseus really is who he claims to be, he will object due to the fact that the headboard of the bed is a tree trunk, rooted deep into the earth. Penelope, while not possessing the same physical strength as Odysseus, rivals even him in terms of wisdom and guile, making Penelope and Odysseus a perfect match. Autolycus, the grandfather of Odysseus on his mother’s side, plays a major role in the development of Odysseus. Autolycus even goes as far to name Odysseus, a major part of a person’s identity. By having this tremendous influence on Odysseus’s identity, he is also responsible for the feminine characteristics that define Odysseus.
“give the boy the name I tell you now. Just as

Show More
Related
385 Words | 2 Pages

Kealan Chiu Mr. Fleitas English 1 Period 5th 2/7/23 Odysseus’s Journey with Manly Masculinity In her translation of the epic poem The Odyssey, Emily Wilson conveys that Odysseus has a cocky, stubborn, and negative masculinity, as seen through the word choices Odysseus uses. For example, Wilson expresses Odysseus's cocky masculinity when she says, "Cyclops! If any mortal asks you how your eye was mutilated and made blind, say the Odysseus, the city-sacker Laertes' son, who lives in Ithaca, destroyed your sight" (Wilson 9 502-506). Wilson saying "your eye was mutilated and made blind" shows Odysseus's cocky masculinity coming out since he is the King of Ithaca; having everything perfect, makes Odysseus look down on Cyclops and make fun of someone's facial features.

Read More
1277 Words | 6 Pages

“Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.” -Erich Fromm ‘The Odyssey’ by Homer, follows the story of Odysseus, a great Greek hero. It tells of his venture to Troy, to lead his army in the Trojan War, and his separation from loved ones and his kingdom for twenty years. However, the novel mainly focuses on the story of his homecoming and all he, and many others, had to endure while he was returning from abroad.

Read More
522 Words | 3 Pages

“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.

Read More
825 Words | 4 Pages

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,

Read More
1601 Words | 7 Pages

Yes, Penelope struggles greatly with a very important decision throughout the course of the story. In the background of the main plot, Penelope struggles with a very important decision throughout the time Odysseus remains lost at sea. After many years without Odysseus’ return, the prospect of a new marriage inclines itself onto Penelope. The sons of the noblest families come to live with Penelope in order to court her for marriage.

Read More
739 Words | 3 Pages

The treatment of women has always been different in different societies, cultures, and time periods. In the Odyssey, the treatment of the female gods is different than the treatment of mortal women because the gods are a powerful being, but the mortal women are property and owned by their husbands. If a women marries a man who she has more money then, they will live in her house, but he will be in charge of everything, including herself. In book 21 and book 3 show the power of the mortal women compared to the power of the goddesses. In the Odyssey, the mortal women are treated and used differently from the way that the goddesses are worshiped because of the gender and societal roles that each group of women are assigned.

Read More
1148 Words | 5 Pages

Would you really have to portray a girl to get what you want? Can you do something different? The Odyssey was taken on by a Greek legend, Odysseus over sea. In his journey there was different men and women along beside him, but the women were quite different in areas and in heart. Portrayal of women is in answer to all the women in the Odyssey.

Read More
780 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
491 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More
1255 Words | 6 Pages

Women are greatly judged by their looks throughout the book. They believe that a woman is successful if any of her direct family have an important position (e.g. King, God) or is a heroic figure. Even though Athena and Calypso are very different, one evident similarity, is their ability to influence and control men. Athena greatly interferes in Telemachus’ and Odysseus’ lives by utilizing her intellect. Her power, influence and control on men can either be seen as a positivity or as a negativity.

Read More
954 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
1007 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
1958 Words | 8 Pages

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 of women is that women have to be so full of virtue that they end up having no substance. These women of no substance are deemed as ideal because they have no visible flaws.

Read More
1401 Words | 6 Pages

Women are weak, helpless, and have no real purpose other than to serve men and take care of children. . . or so they were perceived in history. In the Odyssey, one can see that Homer’s portrayal of women challenges the depiction of women during that time period. Throughout the book, many women intervened in Odysseus’ journey home to Ithaca, for better or for worse. One will see Penelope, Athena, Circe, and other women impact Odysseus’ expedition home.

Read More
785 Words | 4 Pages

Aeschylus has brought in the goddess Athena who came in to state that the male dominance is important. “I was born of no mother and I defer to the male, in all things with all my heart, except for marriage, as I will always be the child of my father (736-738, The Eumenides).” Athena shows that she only knows how to think like a man, since she was born from the head of Zeus. She plays a more traditional female role in the trilogy. The gender differences in the play show how Aeschylus was trying to portray his society to be very male dominated when really the females were the foundation of all three plays.

Read More

More about Examples Of Femininity In The Odyssey

Related Topics

Open Document