Women's Roles In The Odyssey

In these examples, Homer is intending to win our admiration for Penelope. Her loyalty to Odyssey and the slim chance that that he may still be alive are taken to a heroic level, which defy the apparent convention of the day that a woman should not be without a husband. Her cunning in keeping the suitors at bay are also to be admired, and have a parallel in the cunning of Odysseus himself, as Odysseus is also often praised for his resourcefulness in overcoming obstacles.

While gender equality is a topic of active discussion today, women have suffered from prejudiced treatment for a very long time, as can be inferred from several works of ancient literature. The Greeks were enlightened on many fronts, including science, philosophy, art and government, yet they too were guilty of stereotyping women in narrow-minded ways. The Odyssey, by the famous Greek poet Homer, describes the homeward journey of the Greek hero, Odysseus, but also demonstrates gender bias in an ancient society. After winning the battle of Troy, Odysseus and his crew try to return home to Ithaca but face many obstacles along their journey. While sailing near the Mediterranean, Odysseus first lands on the island of Aeaea where he meets Circe,

In keeping with the idea that female characters play a supporting role in the story of a male protagonist, Homer makes a point to focus on Odysseus’ wife. Penelope is the model of

Unlike Odysseus Penelope is confined by the gender roles of her time and cannot use physical strength against the suitors or even direct verbal rejection, instead Penelope resorts to her emotional resilience and wit in order to challenge the suitors. She wrongly reassures the suitors that once she finishes weaving a gift for Odysseus’s father, she will choose someone to marry her, “’Young men, my suitors, let me finish my weaving, before I marry’…every day she wove on the great loom but every night by torchlight she unwove it.” (II. 103-104, 112-113) Penelope’s actions are strategic and well calculated. Her main goal, like Odysseus, is to successfully overcome her situation. She understands that she may not be able to physically fight the suitors but she can trick them until Telemachus or Odysseus are able to. By crafting a lie that delays the suitors from marrying her immediately, Penelope restrains the suitors from seizing Ithaca, her household, and posing a threat to Telemachus or Odysseus. Her lie gives Odysseus a crucial advantage in the physical fight against the suitors as he comes back to a city and household where Penelope

“But now since you have given me accurate proof describing our bed, which no other mortal man beside has ever seen, but only you and I… so you persuade my heart, though it has been very stubborn” (Homer’s Odyssey, book 23. lines 225-230). This really proves how trustworthy Penelope really is stating how no one else had been in their bed. Also, that she did not believe any random guy that showed up saying he was Odysseus and staying faithful to the real Odysseus. Another reason this shows we can trust Penelope is because before this scene Odysseus went through all the trouble to find out if she was faithful or not and then she continues with the same thing that Odysseus had found out. This even shows how clever Penelope was because she could have come right out and asked him a question that he would only know but she waited, so she wouldn’t get her hopes up but also find the real truth since it had been so long since she seen her husband. Also, she could have asked any question, but she knew this was the one thing that would get Odysseus all worked up to find out the truth. Throughout the book we are told stories to show how wise Odysseus is, but is shown that he can be out smarted. All in all, she was able to keep outsmarting people when she needed to stall some time or to find out the truth

In The Odyssey, Penelope and Odysseus have this strong, kind, and sweet love. They are separated for twenty years, but they both stay faithful to one another, even though Odysseus meets these two beautiful and enchantress goddess, and Penelope's suitors trying to marry her ( she never dreams of marrying one of them). When Odysseus comes back from fighting in Troy that lasted for ten years, Penelope-the perfect mate for the wily Odysseus-uses caution and test him. She takes Odysseus back because he knows something only those two know.

Penelope serves as one of the most crucial characters within the Odyssey. She one of the few driving forces for our main protagonist’s journey home and she is also an exemplar model of female character breaking the mold of the damsel in distress. She actually takes it upon herself to take command, to some extent, of her own situation while her husband is presumably making his way back home from war. Penelope even matches Odysseus in craftiness and sly personality. For example, Penelope had told the suitors that she would assume a new husband after she was done weaving a shroud, but she would secretly unweave her progress every night. This behavior is a reoccurring theme. Penelope sets up other tests, such as having to shoot an arrow through

Odyssey have in common: they are all very clever. There are two ways that the

Odysseus and Agamemnon have been gone for quite a few number of years, and suitors have swooped in to claim them as wives. In Clytemnestra’s case however, adultery was committed. She and her lover then plotted to kill Agamemnon when he returned home, suggesting that it is the evils and infidelity of women that lead to men’s downfall. In the underworld Agamemnon says, “But that woman, plotting a thing so low, defiled herself and all her sex, all women yet to come, even those who may be virtuous.” (Book XI, line 501) According to him, Clytemnestra is the reason women are looked upon and spoken of so poorly. Penelope is praised by Agamemnon for remaining so faithful to Odysseus even after 20 years, “Penelope...The very gods themselves will sing her story for the men on earth--mistress of her own heart.” (Book XXIV,line 219) Women throughout the book are talked about terribly as a group, but individuals like Penelope can stand out as Queens, remaining ever

Penelope has a very complex and interesting character. For example her determination to wait and to mislead the suitors for so long shows that she had great intelligence and perseverance. Penelope's wit is acknowledged in this quote from Antinous "For all the Achean beauties of former times, none had at her command such wits as she."(Page 20, Book 2). Penelope's wit is also shown in her scheme to mislead the suitors by saying that they must wait for her to weave a shroud for Odysseus's father Laertes. She told them

Odysseus is unfaithful to Penelope by sleeping with women on his journey home, while Penelope has remained loyal for seventeen years despite the pressure from the suitors as well as others. Odysseus good heroic quality does not overtake his characteristics of not becoming a heroic

Typically ancient Greek women are thought to be very helpful, and powerful. Especially those who were queens or in major political positions of power. Contrary to this belief, a large sum of women in The Odyssey are more harmful than helpful. Women play a negative role in The Odyssey, constantly creating obstacles for Odysseus. They are portrayed as evil, manipulative, and even monstrous.

Homer’s epic poem “The Odyssey” tells of the Greek hero Odysseus’s journeys in order to get back home. It also tells of the struggles of his son, Telemachus, at the hands of the men who want to court his mother, Penelope. Much of the book is comprised of hearing about Penelope’s struggle with these “suitors” who persistently push her to choose one of them to marry. Though Odysseus had been gone for more than 20 years and everyone assumed he was dead, Penelope remained faithful to her husband and dutifully resisted the suitors. Therefore, I am convinced that Penelope was a superb example of faithfulness that every woman (and man) can look at to see how one should act while married.

After Odysseus becomes enraged when Penelope asks the maid to make his bed outside, she realizes that he knows the secret that only Odysseus and her share. She embraces him and praises his homecoming. Once again, Penelope is wise and patient in her decision-making. The suitors pursued her, overtook her home and aggressively pushed her to remarry as she was supposed to. If Penelope would have given in, The Odyssey would not have ended with Odysseus returning to a loyal home. Through cunning, independence and loyalty, Penelope is able to create a positive image as a woman. Chaucer’s Wife of Bath has similar independence and cunning, but she makes her name as a domineering lady that chooses who she wants, and when she wants them.

One of the main themes in Penelope’s relationship with Odysseus as depicted by Homer is her enduring love for Odysseus and her ever-present anguish over his absence. Having been gone for twenty years, and could reasonably have been expected to be dead, it is a testament to her faithful love for Odysseus that not only does she not give up hope of his return, but also remains strong under immense pressure to remarry in the four years leading up to the return of Odysseus. The palace at Ithaca has been overrun by 108 suitors, all vying for the hand of Penelope, but she resists temptation and resorts to various cunning methods to delay the inevitable remarriage – all in the hope that her husband is not dead and will one day return. It is a very strong bond of love