The Terrible Ocean and Monstrous Female Representation In The Odyssey, Homer utilizes the female Scylla and Charybdis to represent the dangers of the sea and the dangers of female agency through drawing parallels between the ocean and femininity. In the text, the ocean is portrayed as something monstrous and uncontrollable. This is shown through the various creatures they encounter on their journey, specifically Scylla and Charybdis. Scylla and Charybdis are depicted as female monsters that are untamed, fearsome creatures which reflect the views of the time toward both the ocean and women. Odysseus encounters many monsters during his journey home and among the most fearsome of them are Scylla and Charybdis. Both Scylla and Charybdis are
…show more content…
Charybdis shares many of the same characteristics as her neighbor but whereas Scylla is a seemingly sentient being, Charybdis is more like an elemental force. She lacks Scylla’s cunning because she is a more primal representation of the ferocity of the ocean. As a result, she is the more powerful of the two. In making a choice between whether to approach Scylla or Charybdis, Odysseus chooses Scylla because “[b]etter by far to lose six men and keep your ship than lose your entire crew” signifying that they could not come out of any encounter with these creatures completely unscathed, they just chose to pick the lesser of two evils (Homer …show more content…
It is a violent thing that Poseidon wields like a weapon, intent on keeping Odysseus away from his homeland. Poseidon, in anger, “churned the waves into chaos, whipping all the gales from every quarter, shrouding over in thunderheads the earth and sea at once” which shows his control is absolute, turning a deceptively peaceful ocean into a deathtrap for Odysseus (Homer 161). The ocean becomes a force that no man can hope to control, much like Scylla and Charybdis, and as a result, becomes terrifying. Even Odysseus, who has been hailed as a brave hero and one who “excels all men in wisdom”, is described as having quaking knees and a quaking spirit after witnessing the ocean’s might (Homer
Charybdis shares many of the same characteristics as her neighbor but whereas Scylla is a seemingly sentient being, Charybdis is more like an elemental force. She lacks Scylla’s cunning because she is a more primal representation of the ferocity of the ocean. As a result, she is the more powerful of the two. In making a choice between whether to approach Scylla or Charybdis, Odysseus chooses Scylla because “[b]etter by far to lose six men and keep your ship than lose your entire crew” signifying that they could not come out of any encounter with these creatures completely unscathed, they just chose to pick the lesser of two evils (Homer …show more content…
It is a violent thing that Poseidon wields like a weapon, intent on keeping Odysseus away from his homeland. Poseidon, in anger, “churned the waves into chaos, whipping all the gales from every quarter, shrouding over in thunderheads the earth and sea at once” which shows his control is absolute, turning a deceptively peaceful ocean into a deathtrap for Odysseus (Homer 161). The ocean becomes a force that no man can hope to control, much like Scylla and Charybdis, and as a result, becomes terrifying. Even Odysseus, who has been hailed as a brave hero and one who “excels all men in wisdom”, is described as having quaking knees and a quaking spirit after witnessing the ocean’s might (Homer