Throughout The Odyssey, Homer tends to have woman
embody trickery much more than he does men. Although deceptiveness is not
always considered the best trait to have, Homer signifies that woman think
before they act, thus they can be more manipulative. It goes without saying
that many men act purely on emotions a large portion of the time. Although
Odysseus shows cunning through his idea of the Trojan horse and the duping of
the Kyclops into saying that “nohbdy’s
tricked [him]” (157), it is most notably the women who are seen deceiving
others.
The
witch, Kirkê, used trickery on her island of Aiaia to beguile most of Odysseus’
crew and to make them “become like swine” (173). Kalypso also entices Odysseus
with her beauty and keeps him on her island as her own personal plaything.
While these may be accentuated as negative forms of trickery, both Kirkê and
Kalypso ended up helping Odysseus once they themselves were deceived or forced
out of their own trickery. Kalypso helped him get off her island and Kirkê gave
Odysseus advice on how to get to the Underworld and also fed him and his men
for a year.
Athena
and Penélopê remain woman that use duplicity to their own benefit, but in a way
that also benefits other main characters in the epic. Athena continually
disguises herself as other people, but it is only to prompt Telémakhos to
become a man, and to help Odysseus make his journey home. However, while also
primarily maintaining a disguise, Athena does let Odysseus know she is aiding
him on his journey to Ithaka, which undoes some of her previous trickery.
Penélopê is also duplicitous when she tells the suitors she will not marry one
until she finishes weaving for Lord Laërtês and thus “everyday [she] wove on
the great loom but every night by torchlight [she] unwove it” (358). The
suitors consider this deception unacceptable, but to those in favor of
Odysseus, it is merely cunning and illusive.
The
Odyssey has plenty of characters who
participate in trickery of their own, but since the book is primarily focused
on the expeditions of Odysseus and his strength, bravery, and wit, the
ingenious deception and shrewdness of the woman Odysseus encounters is also acknowledged.
Without each part the notable guileful woman played, the trek home would have been
nearly impossible or potentially futile.
You use really good details to back up your connection between female and trickery. You make a good point that the trickery in the end helped Odysseus get back home. Do you think that means that trickery by women (especially Kalypso and Kirke) is therefore justified in this epic poem? I think it's interesting how Athena and Penelope are portrayed more positively with their deception.
ReplyDeleteI think that it's interesting to note that, since the epic is "primarily focused on the expeditions of Odysseus...and his wit," Odysseus is the clear-cut champion of deception. From lying about his background and identity to tricking the Kyklops, his treachery is always cast in the most positive light possible. Like you said, without his own trickery and the trickery of others (Athena, Penelope), Odysseus would have died as easily as his other crew mates.
ReplyDeleteMaybe "negative" trickery isn't so much a derivative of gender, but rather a result of who is positively affiliated with the great hero Odysseus. His wife and the goddess who help him along the way engage in a type of deception that would, by most readers, be considered respectable. On the other hand, women who pose an obstacle to Odysseus (both in the war and on his expedition home) generally engage in malicious and sinister trickery.
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