ipl-logo

Women In Oedipus Rex

1175 Words5 Pages

The treatment of women has been a topic all throughout history. Women would be treated as lesser beings compared to men. Back in 430 b.c when Oedipus Rex took place, women were not treated equally by men in power. An example of this is when King Laius died, Jocasta did not become the ruler. She had to wait for someone to marry her to have a new ruler. Jocasta wasn 't allowed to rule because she was a women and men thought she needed a husband to guide her. From reading Oedipus Rex, Jocasta would have been qualified to rule because she is smart and cares about the people. Back in the 1700’s when Candide took place, women were still treated unequally by men as well. An example of this is when the Baron would not allow Cunégondé to marry Candide. …show more content…

Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, women are not treated as poorly as women are in Candide. Women are still treated like their objects. When Jocasta was offered as a reward to the man who could solve the riddle of the sphinx. Jocasta was beautiful and was put in with the reward for motivation for men to solve the riddle. This portrays women as objects and that they are something to be owned. Also women did not really have a say in what could happen in a situation because the men had to speak for them. Women had to be loyal to the husbands or there would be a consequence for there actions. An example for this is when Jocasta and Laius were deciding to expose Oedipus on Mount Cithaeron. Laius took the newborn Oedipus from Jocasta 's arms and sent him with someone to be left out and to be exposed. Mothers have a strong connection with their children, so it must have been very difficult for Jocasta to watch her baby be exposed. In Oedipus Rex women are not portrayed as being strong and confident. An example of this is when Jocasta commits suicide. Sure she is horrified about sleeping with her son, but for someone to take their own life, it 's just showing that that person is not strong. Women are in the background staying quiet, while the men did all the talking and decision making. Jocasta tries to advise Oedipus to stop arguing with Creon because she wants them to focus on saving the city from the Miasma. They do not listen to her because they think she is being ignorant. This …show more content…

In conclusion, the treatment of women in both Candide and Oedipus Rex is horrible and disrespectful. In the books, In Oedipus Rex and Candide, the authors show the treatment of women and how they are viewed by them. The authors had different views in women but they also had some similar views. They both talked about how women were treated like objects for men to look at and how they were not allowed to have an opinion on anything. Jocasta, Cunégondé, the old women and Paquette were all victims of this sexism. Overall, all women should not have been treated like this and should have been

Show More
Related
663 Words | 3 Pages

Major continuities and changes regarding various views of women in the years between 1450 and 1700 include both the continuation of disdain towards women and the emergence of the idea that women are equal to men. Women were often thought to be of less value than men, an idea that originated early in history and progressed throughout this time period. Some men and women began to speak out against inequality and, whether directly or indirectly, influenced new ideas causing others to believe in the power of women. Many views of women in the years between 1450 and 1700 continued to show the age old idea of women being seen as the inferior gender. James Sprenger and Henry Kramer wrote that women are more likely to be attacked by the devil because they are more naive than men (1).

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
1005 Words | 5 Pages

In Ancient Greek Civilization, women were viewed as submissive. A man always controlled the women; that either being the Father or Husband. Women were forced to stay in the house and complete all household duties. Women were not even granted the right to attend assemblies, participate in politics, or even represent themselves in court. Having little to no overall power in your society can have a huge burden on Women but this can also fuel certain Women to strive to change the society they live in.

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

There are different ways for women to be portrayed in the Odyssey. They can be disloyal, sexual, and loyal woman that gets used for these things. Could you ever grasp a point of how you would feel if you were the one being portrayed? In the first section of the Odyssey, women are presented to us as controlled by the culture of the day, and it is only within that area that we can consider the way Odysseus provides women to be admired or despised throughout his journey.

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
254 Words | 2 Pages

Though women play a central role in the Odyssey the portrayal and characterization of said women is often times sexist and places most of the women in positions of power until Odysseus or one of the male gods comes along and puts a stop to it. All of the women are characterized with few traits, most of which only describe their looks, while the reader is constantly reminded of all of Odysseus good traits. Even Penelope, who is portrayed as the ideal woman, is only ever described as ‘beautiful’ and ‘faithful’. Though this does make sense considering the time period and how during the time women were considered property of men. With all of the different character and how they are written one would expect some variety in the description of women.

Read More
1255 Words | 6 Pages

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.

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
1910 Words | 8 Pages

Not only did men see women as unintelligent, they also saw them as weak and compliant. What made this worse was that women of higher status would have a lot of free time since they had servants to do everything. They would spend their time strolling around or doing ‘feminine hobbies’; this affirmed mens’ notion that that women were idle and did not do much, so they treated them this way. To see how dire their situation was, one must must only have to read A Midsummer Night’s Dream. While fictitious, this story does show one bit of truth, the way women were being treated during this era.

Read More
1261 Words | 6 Pages

Different societies view women in different lights. Therefore, a woman’s position is greatly different from one society to the other. The societies in question do not necessarily have to exist at the same time. Even in the same time frame, two societies could exist, where one treat women as equals to men, and another that treats women differently than men, whether better or worse. The societies in question are: Mesopotamia, Greece, China, Rome & Europe, and this essay aims to study different societies’ viewpoints on women, and to compare and contrast them against each other.

Read More
1355 Words | 6 Pages

However, these contrasts between their personal thinking built most of valuable points in Odysseus' epic journey, and making a more intense story. To some extent, these women are not foolish at all because at least they are successful at leading people to believe that waiting is meaningful. The whole story happened during the dark centuries of women in Greece, when their value was limited behind men. However The “Odyssey” gives an opportunity to horror their role, also rejecting all erroneous preconceptions about the woman. Penelope -- a typical woman who represents for an image of a devoted wife, a mother of family and she is also an image of how women was treated at Greece.

Read More
824 Words | 4 Pages

In this play, he has created a marriage that promotes respect towards women. Traditionally, women are not treated as equals in their society, but Sophocles believes otherwise and expresses his opinion through his plays. Sophocles presents that the marriage between Oedipus and Jocasta is respectable and equal. When Oedipus was going through a difficult time, Jocasta became aware of this and wanted nothing else but to help Oedipus find what he was looking for. Oedipus, who is in search of the truth regarding his birth, is questioning Jocasta, looking for answers.

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

More about Women In Oedipus Rex

Related Topics

Open Document