Treatment Of Women In The Odyssey

In a patriarchal society, women lie at the bottom of the social hierarchy. A patriarchy judges women for their beauty and innocence rather than merit and intelligence. Throughout the twenty-four books of The Odyssey as well as Game of Thrones, a modern day rendition of medieval society written by George. R. R. Martin, women struggle for power in society. Most of the women in these two plots are mothers and seductresses. In the Odyssey, Penelope plays the role of the mother, innocent to all and caring, on the other hand, Circe: the goddess of magic is the seductress. Convincing unsuspecting men into her household, only to experience physical transformations. In Game of Thrones, Cersei Lannister, the oldest daughter of Tywin Lannister, represents

To achieve this they need complete control of all elements of life around them, especially women. Men do not just want to control their women; they want to guide their movements, influence their thoughts. These ideals are only functional when the woman is submissive. Usually these women happen to be mothers which is why they are so well respected in society. Sadly these women become infused with the shadow of their husbands, but this is the only way to gain respect and prestige. Penelope, wife of Odysseus is the paradigm woman. After the Trojan war, there is no news of Odysseus. No one knows of his whereabouts or what his plans were. Odysseus stays lost at sea for nearly twenty years, yet Penelope still says faithful and has no skeptic thoughts. Suitors come to wed Penelope and amass Odysseus’s treasure, however when asked when she would marry she says the time would come soon; it never did. Antinous, a suitor, tells Penelope’s story, “ ‘Young men, my suitors, now that King Odysseus is no more, go slowly, keen as you are to marry me, until I can finish off this web… so this weaving won 't fray and come to nothing. This is a shroud for old lord Laertes…’ ” (2.104-109). Penelope offers to wed a suitor after her shroud is finished, while in reality she will never actually finish her shroud. She sits at home for years upon years, weaving and unweaving, waiting for Odysseus to return. As a depressed, solemn woman she can do nothing that can

Similarly to Penelope, Cersei Lannister is noble mother figure in society. Rather than being accepted into society for her normal behavior, it is her submission to society which brings her social acceptance. Cersei Lannister is a powerful, beautiful woman. Sadly her Lannister title brings her into sinister situations where she is forced to make life and death decisions, both for her family and for her people of King’s Landing. Cersei is kidnapped by a rival group in the city, they hold her hostage and refuse her water and food. She is living in solitary confinement, the only way for her to go back into society is by submitting to the rivals. In tattered robes on a dirty floor, she submits to the rivals by confessing her sin:“I lay with a man outside the bonds of marriage, I confess”. The second part of her submission is the walk of Atonement, where she needs to walk naked in the streets in order to achieve acceptance into society. This is the ultimate punishment for a noble, nobles often are only seen for brief moments, dressed in luxurious clothes, for them to be naked is a horrendous blow. While she may not be accepted back into the higher echelons of society, she is finally released from captivity due to her full submission. Thus showing how submission brings women social