Women in the Odyssey
How do you define a woman? What qualities make a women, a woman? Is a woman a woman based on her loyalty to men or the amount of beauty she possesses? In the Odyssey by Homer, there is a wide variety of female characters, all with different personalities. For example, Penelope, Wife of Odysseus, remains loyal to her husband for 20 years while being pursued by hundreds of men and Calypso, a nymph, traps Odysseus on her island for several years and uses her beauty to her advantage. The inclusion of different woman is used by Homer to show the personality variation that characterizes woman then and now, their actions, behavior, and mindset creates a separation of the female characters and display the theme of loyalty …show more content…
Although it was a challenge, she remains loyal to Odysseus by tricking the suitors into believing that she has been weaving a shroud for the father of her husband, Laertes, but at night secretly unweaves the shroud. This is a great reference for the loyalty she possesses because she went through great lengths, even lying to what is said to be one hundred men that could easily overpower her just to not remarry. In complete contrast, Kalypso traps Odysseus on her island and seduces him into sleeping with her, although it didn't take much convincing. Homer uses Kalypso to display the typical homewrecker or whore, a woman that uses her beauty or body to take part in a sexual action with another man. Lastly there is the wife of Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, who cheats on him then teams up with her lover to kill him and rule his empire. Clytemnestra is included in the poem as the archetype of distrustful and unloyal wife and to be compared to the loyal Penelope. The part in the poem when Odysseus visits the underworld and sees Agamemnon after he is killed and Agamemnon tells him to pay close attention to women is used to enhance the point of Clytemnestra being a cheater and how the lack of loyalty displayed in her actions diminished all validity of her reputation. The actions of these three women created a barrier between them, a loyal wife, a sneaky, seductress, and a disloyal …show more content…
Penelope shows timid and submissive behavior throughout the entire poem, making her the most preferred type of woman during that time period. For example, in the poem when Penelope is questioning Telemachus about Odysseus’ return, he tells her to calm down and go back into the room and she does although she is shocked by his assertiveness. The small action by Penelope shows her compliancy and trust in the men surrounding her and……. On the other hand, Kalypso presents a more sexual behavior. Not only does she keep Odysseus on the island with her, but when he and his men return for a second she continues to sleep with him for the little bit of time he is on the island. Her continually sleeping with Odysseus even after he turned her down for immortal life shows her desperation for a man who does not want to remain with her. The sexual appeal used by Kalypso is used by homer to illustrate how women classified in a similar manner to Kalypso use their body over heart to lure a man into them. Clytemnestra’s horrific, cheating behavior is used by Homer to show the cruel behavior of a cheating and scandalous wife. The fact that she kills her husband with Aegisthus, the man she committed adulterous acts with, only goes to show how little she cares. In addition to actions, Homer uses Clytemnestra and Kalypso’s behavior to compare them to Penelope’s because the two women are far
How do you define a woman? What qualities make a women, a woman? Is a woman a woman based on her loyalty to men or the amount of beauty she possesses? In the Odyssey by Homer, there is a wide variety of female characters, all with different personalities. For example, Penelope, Wife of Odysseus, remains loyal to her husband for 20 years while being pursued by hundreds of men and Calypso, a nymph, traps Odysseus on her island for several years and uses her beauty to her advantage. The inclusion of different woman is used by Homer to show the personality variation that characterizes woman then and now, their actions, behavior, and mindset creates a separation of the female characters and display the theme of loyalty …show more content…
Although it was a challenge, she remains loyal to Odysseus by tricking the suitors into believing that she has been weaving a shroud for the father of her husband, Laertes, but at night secretly unweaves the shroud. This is a great reference for the loyalty she possesses because she went through great lengths, even lying to what is said to be one hundred men that could easily overpower her just to not remarry. In complete contrast, Kalypso traps Odysseus on her island and seduces him into sleeping with her, although it didn't take much convincing. Homer uses Kalypso to display the typical homewrecker or whore, a woman that uses her beauty or body to take part in a sexual action with another man. Lastly there is the wife of Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, who cheats on him then teams up with her lover to kill him and rule his empire. Clytemnestra is included in the poem as the archetype of distrustful and unloyal wife and to be compared to the loyal Penelope. The part in the poem when Odysseus visits the underworld and sees Agamemnon after he is killed and Agamemnon tells him to pay close attention to women is used to enhance the point of Clytemnestra being a cheater and how the lack of loyalty displayed in her actions diminished all validity of her reputation. The actions of these three women created a barrier between them, a loyal wife, a sneaky, seductress, and a disloyal …show more content…
Penelope shows timid and submissive behavior throughout the entire poem, making her the most preferred type of woman during that time period. For example, in the poem when Penelope is questioning Telemachus about Odysseus’ return, he tells her to calm down and go back into the room and she does although she is shocked by his assertiveness. The small action by Penelope shows her compliancy and trust in the men surrounding her and……. On the other hand, Kalypso presents a more sexual behavior. Not only does she keep Odysseus on the island with her, but when he and his men return for a second she continues to sleep with him for the little bit of time he is on the island. Her continually sleeping with Odysseus even after he turned her down for immortal life shows her desperation for a man who does not want to remain with her. The sexual appeal used by Kalypso is used by homer to illustrate how women classified in a similar manner to Kalypso use their body over heart to lure a man into them. Clytemnestra’s horrific, cheating behavior is used by Homer to show the cruel behavior of a cheating and scandalous wife. The fact that she kills her husband with Aegisthus, the man she committed adulterous acts with, only goes to show how little she cares. In addition to actions, Homer uses Clytemnestra and Kalypso’s behavior to compare them to Penelope’s because the two women are far