“Basically Societal Deemed Transgender Lifestyles of Mythological Characters” Ted Hughes’ Tales from Ovid is a collection of classical stories depicting positive and negative human interaction with mythological deities on issues such as: love, hate, family, infidelity, and bravery. Typically human interactions with the Gods and Goddess resulted in negative outcomes. Similar to the women in Diane Gilliam’s Kettle Bottom, various individuals in Tales from Ovid broke gender norms. Society decides what behaviors seem acceptable, suitable, or required for males and females. Women should not only to be married, but to serve her husband and have his children. Men are considered odd if they do not chase women, participate in vigorous activities, or …show more content…
The reproduction of Caravaggio’s Narcissus, depicts the mythological character, Narcissus’s death as he stares at his reflection. Echo and Narcissus foreshadows the death, “Gossips came to Tiresias: ‘Can her boy live long with such perfect beauty?’ The seer replied: ‘Yes, unless he learns to know himself’” (pg. 69). As predicted Narcissus excessive admiration with himself and his appearance became the leading cause of his death. In Echo and Narcissus, women constantly threw themselves at him however, he refused them all. Echo angered the Goddess Juno, therefore she was cursed and unable to communicate. The tale Echo and Narcissus further clarifies Echo’s dilemma, “Echo who cannot be silent when another speaks. Echo who cannot speak at all unless another has spoken. Echo who always answers backs” (pg.70). Echo could only repeat what Narcissus called out however, upon seeing her; she was rejected like the others. Although he was hunting in the woods before his death, Narcissus broke his stereotypical male gender role of not accepting the attention of the opposite sex. Society believes that men are supposed to chase women and women are supposed to play hard to
Degradation of Women Viewed from Modern American Context On Tuesday, February 6th, the Crockett House Firm charged the epic poem, The Odyssey, for representing the degradation of women, specifically, women being objectified and misrepresented. The Crockett House Firm wants these charges to be judges from a modern, American cultural context. The Crockett House firm is the prosecution and finds The Odyssey guilty of the charges. The Griffin House Firm is the defense for this trial and finds The Odyssey not guilty.
Whether it be a movie or novel, women are commonly portrayed as objects of beauty and the weaker gender. It is a typical stereotype that women are weak and men are strong; women are made to serve men. However, Homer’s The Odyssey is different; the epic poem proves that women can not only be manipulative, but that they can also be powerful and often stronger than men. Women in this epic poem have several roles like being interventions throughout Odysseus’ journey home from the Trojan War.
In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, the role of arranged marriages are delved into with the story of Zeus willing his daughter, Persephone, to marry his brother Hades. This myth brings up a variety of issues revolving around the societal views of women in ancient Greece. Zeus’s ownership of his daughter, Persephone, definitely reflects upon the role women held when it came to their own marriage decision, or lack thereof. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter can be read as a charter myth since the details of the myth directly reflect upon the ancient Greek practice of arranged marriages. While the Homeric Hymn to Demeter was published, arranged marriages were very prevalent in society.
On the other hand, women are shamed for having the same relationships. These double standards are portrayed in literature as well. In Homer’s The Odyssey, we see these double standards applied to its’ story and characters. It was especially applied to Odysseus, the main Greek hero in this epic.
“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.
For example, when odysseus left Penelope all alone, he went out and cheated on her with Calypso. Although many people believe that Homer presented woman positively, the characters the Sirens, Scylla and Calypso actually suggest the opposite. First of all ,Homer portrays the sirens as manipulative. When Odysseus returns to Aeaea, he stays with circe for the last time.
In both Homer’s Odyssey and Valmiki’s Ramanyana, Penelope and Sita are both held up to be role models for their separate cultures. If it is true mythological heroes are to be ideal people whom men should model themselves after, their wives must be examples of perfection for our women to look up to. While they are both fiercely loyal to their husbands, they each possess qualities that their separate cultures held up as the most important. In the Odyssey, Penelope suffers twenty years of separation from her beloved husband, in which she must hold off over a hundred suitors with no tools but her cunning.
The Homeric Hymns portray Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis and Hestia as strong females who uphold their own beliefs; challenging the “typical” gender stereotypes of the time period. Women in antiquity were expected to follow and uphold certain societal rules, most of these rules emphasized the gender stereotypes that women were perceived as being. The use of the goddesses powers challenge these societal rules and ideas about women. Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis, and Hestia are portrayed in the Homeric Hymns in contrast to ancient stereotypical roles of women being confined to the household; as a result this contrast emphasizes that women can showcase strength, intelligence, and power within society. A women’s life in antiquity was constricted by
This paper will discuss the well-published work of, Pomeroy, Sarah B. Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity. New York: Schocken, 1975. Print. Sarah B. Pomeroy uses this book to educate others about the role women have played throughout ancient history. Pomeroy uses a timeline to go through each role, starting with mythological women, who were called Goddesses.
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.
These almighty figures are the world’s greatest thing because they never harm humans, they don’t desire sexual needs from mortals, and they don’t expect endless gifts and sacrifices. According to the Christian bible, one of the most despicable acts a person can indulge in is adultery and lust, but when analyzing the poem, we can see that many Greek gods and goddesses partake in this shameful behavior. The eagerness of lust that Greek gods and goddesses experience humanizes them, making them closer to
Can Societal Gender Roles Limit an Individual? A man is supposed to be strong, powerful, and well respected. What if all genders were seen in the same light? In most societies, past and present, men are viewed as the dominant gender.
A mythological story can express a valuable message to its readers, advising them to choose a certain path when making decisions and to stray away from what can harm them. It can also give an artist, whether it is a painter or a poet, the inspiration to express their intake of what was given to them. The expression can show support of a character’s decision, show sadness towards a character’s place in the myth, or relate the myth to a real-life occurrence. When poet Eavan Boland was reading Book 1 of Ovid’s Metamorphosis, she wanted to express a different meaning of the story of Daphne by writing “Daphne with her Thighs in Bark”. She did this by using a feminist approach while looking back at Daphne’s fate.