The Odyssey Feminist Analysis

Throughout history, women have been second fiddle to men. Females have been degraded, disrespected, and undermined; they’ve been ignored, silenced, and gone unheard. This gender inequality is present even in The Odyssey, though it includes many important female figures. Penelope, Calypso, Circe, and more are all crucial to the plot, and some even responsible for the happy ending, yet when inspected closely female stereotypes emerge. The majority of the women are presented as seductresses, the others as mothers, and almost all as fragile and dependent on men. Though the female characters played pivotal parts in The Odyssey, they also displayed the limited roles of women during Homer’s time. Women were often seen as seductresses and temptations

She tells of how the male gods such as Zeus fraternize with whomever they desire, but when a goddess sleeps with a mortal, she is punished and reprimanded (5.129-142). When Odysseus returns home to Penelope, he explains how “the nymph Calypso held him back, deep in her arching caverns, craving him for a husband” (23.77-78) and expects his wife to simply accept and understand his situation. If the roles were switched, however, and Penelope had slept with another man, Odysseus would have no doubt been angered, even though Penelope believed him to be long dead. During 8th century B.C., women were considered the property of men. A girl belonged to her father until she married, where she then belonged to her husband. If a woman ever slept with another man, she would be divorced, her children would be taken away, and she would be left with no money or estate. However, if a man were to sleep with another lady, no harm would come to his reputation or his possessions. These ideas and societal norms from Homer’s era all align with the themes of women in The

Again, Odysseus seems to be so entranced by Circe’s beauty, that he stays with her for a year. Not only does the hero sleep with the enchantress, he forgets about his journey home until his comrades remind him. Even more so than Calypso, Odysseus has absolutely no qualms about having an affair with another woman, and taking his time to return to his wife. The only thing he mentions to Penelope about Circe are her “cunning magic wiles (23.320),” as though her trickery and magic were the only reasons for his stay