In Homer’s Iliad and the book of Genesis, Andromache and Rebekah alike occupy a more constricted sphere of authority because of expected female gender roles in their respective patriarchal societies. Although their authority is confined to the domestic sphere, both Andromache and Rebekah attempt to assert their control over the desperate situations they face. Rebekah, however, has a bigger impact in the book of Genesis than does Andromache in the Iliad when it comes to their abilities to influence the actions of their husbands and overcome preexisting societal expectations.
Both women, who hold similar roles as wives and mothers, exist in societies that give them few opportunities to be much else. Societal rules dictate that they do not hold the same value as the men around them. According to Genesis, Eve’s decision to eat the forbidden fruit brings about this ill-fated destiny. God punishes Eve, and in turn, all women after her, proclaiming, “your desire shall be for your …show more content…
Outraged at having to give up Chryseis, Agamemnon demands “another prize [be] ready for [him] right away,” refusing to be left, “the only Greek without a prize” (Il. 1.126-127). Andromache dutifully plays the part reserved for her as a Trojan woman, attending to “the loom and the shuttle, and [telling] the servants / To get on with their jobs” (Il. 6.516-517). In both the Iliad and Genesis, one of a woman’s most important duty is to bear children, specifically sons, to carry on the family line. A similar implication is seen in the Iliad; Hector implores of the gods that his son “become… / Brave and strong… / And may men say he is far better than his father / When he returns from war” (Il. 6.502-505). His greatest hope is that his son should become an even more honorable warrior than himself. Much of that responsibility falls on Andromache, in bearing and raising their
Both women, who hold similar roles as wives and mothers, exist in societies that give them few opportunities to be much else. Societal rules dictate that they do not hold the same value as the men around them. According to Genesis, Eve’s decision to eat the forbidden fruit brings about this ill-fated destiny. God punishes Eve, and in turn, all women after her, proclaiming, “your desire shall be for your …show more content…
Outraged at having to give up Chryseis, Agamemnon demands “another prize [be] ready for [him] right away,” refusing to be left, “the only Greek without a prize” (Il. 1.126-127). Andromache dutifully plays the part reserved for her as a Trojan woman, attending to “the loom and the shuttle, and [telling] the servants / To get on with their jobs” (Il. 6.516-517). In both the Iliad and Genesis, one of a woman’s most important duty is to bear children, specifically sons, to carry on the family line. A similar implication is seen in the Iliad; Hector implores of the gods that his son “become… / Brave and strong… / And may men say he is far better than his father / When he returns from war” (Il. 6.502-505). His greatest hope is that his son should become an even more honorable warrior than himself. Much of that responsibility falls on Andromache, in bearing and raising their