Our
mothers are the ones who give us life, nurse us to adulthood and are able to
craft us into capable men and women. In contrast to the portrayal of women as
nurturing, there are also nymphs, sirens and sorceresses that trick whomever
they want to do their bidding. In the Odyssey, all women seem to plot, plan and
deceive others into the folds of their webs, mothers and otherwise, while men
innocently rough through journeys and conquer obstacles through strength and
honor.
The first major female character we encounter is Odysseus’ wife Penelope, who is being pursued by multiple suitors. We are not first introduced to Penelope by her own appearance in the epic, but rather by the gossip spread around about her. When Athena arrives in Ithaca to discuss Telemacus’ situation, Penelope’s own son questions her actions and believes that it is possible Penelope has lied about the paternity of Odysseus’. When her suitors are questioned, some raise the concern that Penelope has merely kept them around and tricked them into believing they may have a chance while she unravels the tapestry she slated to be the hourglass for her next marriage. Athena, who hears this all in the form of a man, spends the majority of the epic in male form. When she is referred to as female, the reader becomes aware that she was in part to blame for the misfortunes of Odysseus’ crew in his odyssey when "they wronged the goddess with grey eyes, who made a black wind blow and the seas rise, in which his troops were lost and all his gear, while easterlies and current washed him here" (108). The other females we are introduced to are all tricksters by nature and gleefully manipulate the men – Calypso keeps Odysseus on her island for nearly a decade "for she compelled him" (110) , Circe turns the men into pigs, and the sirens gladly bring doom to the entire crew.
Greek men, on the other hand, are heroes are gods that honorably hold up arms to bring fortune to their people. Telemacus embarks on a journey to find out the fate of his father, his crew comprised entirely of men and a male Pallas Athena. The main ‘trickster’ that is included in his plot is his nursemaid, who must lie in order to hide the trip from his mother. Even Hermes, who in modern times is known to be the god of tricksters, makes an only appearance in the early parts of the Odyssey to tell Calypso that she must quit her own games with Odysseus and is referred to as Zeus' "favorite son" (105). The male characters that do cause trouble for others are gods with immense amounts of power that may roughen the seas or winds to delay a journey or two, but they are beyond human and never use their sexuality as part of their trick, unlike the women. The one human man who uses tricks to advance his journey is Odysseus in Polyphemus’ lair, displaying disgraceful amounts of hubris thereafter by revealing his own name. Not only is he severely punished for it afterwards, but he still does not use any sexual tactics to carry out his tricks. Every other time he is referred to in positive words, such as "strategist" (113) versus trickster.The contrast between female trickery and male nobility in the Odyssey displays the stark double standards of Greek society and how fearful they were of female influence.
The first major female character we encounter is Odysseus’ wife Penelope, who is being pursued by multiple suitors. We are not first introduced to Penelope by her own appearance in the epic, but rather by the gossip spread around about her. When Athena arrives in Ithaca to discuss Telemacus’ situation, Penelope’s own son questions her actions and believes that it is possible Penelope has lied about the paternity of Odysseus’. When her suitors are questioned, some raise the concern that Penelope has merely kept them around and tricked them into believing they may have a chance while she unravels the tapestry she slated to be the hourglass for her next marriage. Athena, who hears this all in the form of a man, spends the majority of the epic in male form. When she is referred to as female, the reader becomes aware that she was in part to blame for the misfortunes of Odysseus’ crew in his odyssey when "they wronged the goddess with grey eyes, who made a black wind blow and the seas rise, in which his troops were lost and all his gear, while easterlies and current washed him here" (108). The other females we are introduced to are all tricksters by nature and gleefully manipulate the men – Calypso keeps Odysseus on her island for nearly a decade "for she compelled him" (110) , Circe turns the men into pigs, and the sirens gladly bring doom to the entire crew.
Greek men, on the other hand, are heroes are gods that honorably hold up arms to bring fortune to their people. Telemacus embarks on a journey to find out the fate of his father, his crew comprised entirely of men and a male Pallas Athena. The main ‘trickster’ that is included in his plot is his nursemaid, who must lie in order to hide the trip from his mother. Even Hermes, who in modern times is known to be the god of tricksters, makes an only appearance in the early parts of the Odyssey to tell Calypso that she must quit her own games with Odysseus and is referred to as Zeus' "favorite son" (105). The male characters that do cause trouble for others are gods with immense amounts of power that may roughen the seas or winds to delay a journey or two, but they are beyond human and never use their sexuality as part of their trick, unlike the women. The one human man who uses tricks to advance his journey is Odysseus in Polyphemus’ lair, displaying disgraceful amounts of hubris thereafter by revealing his own name. Not only is he severely punished for it afterwards, but he still does not use any sexual tactics to carry out his tricks. Every other time he is referred to in positive words, such as "strategist" (113) versus trickster.The contrast between female trickery and male nobility in the Odyssey displays the stark double standards of Greek society and how fearful they were of female influence.
No comments:
Post a Comment