Examples Of Femininity In The Odyssey

After Odysseus men are eaten by the Cyclops, they come up with a plan to hurt him so they could escape. When they stab the Cyclops in the eye, the Cyclops calls the other Cyclopes. When they approach they ask who ruined him and the Cyclops answers, “Nobody, Nobody's tricked me, Nobody's ruined me!” (9. 317). Earlier in the poem when The Cyclops asks Odysseus for his name, Odysseus tells him the name is Nobody. This takes a tremendous amount of intelligence which is why Odysseus is known for his cleverness.

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,

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.

“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.

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.

“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.

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.

The Odyssey by Homer is a book that involves the Journey of Odysseus and his men and the Obstacles they come across. The Odyssey portrays many themes including vengeance, hospitality, courage, bravery and more. Odysseus experiences some good and bad during his journey. He comes across people who help him, but also comes across creatures who hold him back. Odysseus is an Epic hero because of his quick thinking skills, bravery, and confidence for himself and his men.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Homer’s Odyssey is greatly concerned with nostos, the Greek word for homecoming. The tale follows Odysseus’ journey home to Ithaka, which is greatly affected by the choices made by the characters. Penelope and Odysseus in particular play a significant role in Odysseus’ quest for nostos. Odysseus uses deception and tricks in an attempt to assure his speedy homecoming, whilst Penelope does the same in order to avoid being forced to replace her husband. The couple occasionally thwart their own efforts, such as when Odysseus does not share with his men what the bag of winds contains and when Penelope is caught undoing her work on the shroud for Laertes.