Trickery in the Odyssey

The Odyssey presents some tricky views on trickery (see what I did there?) and its relation to each gender. There are stories in which women are the culprits and men are the unfortunate victims, but then there are also instances where a man's cleverness allows him to get away with trickery. While the females in the story are usually associated with sexual cunning and infidelity, the males succeed and rise above others as a result of their acts of trickery, because for men, brainpower is something that is  admirable. 

Odysseus himself commits trickery. It's the main reason why he's stranded on sea while other soldiers are eating home-cooked feasts and making love to their own wives. As the saying goes, a clever man can recognize the cleverness in another. When Odysseus and his men came upon the Cyclops' island, instead of being hospitable, the Cyclops attempts to instill fear in Odysseus and find out the whereabouts of the rest of his men. Odysseus recognized the trickery of his words and avoided answering the question. Even after the Cyclops brutally killed and ate his men, Odysseus stood his ground, and tricked the Cyclops by making him drink the rich wine that he obtained on one of his stops, making him favorable in the eyes of Cyclops and ensuring that he would not be eaten right away. He told the Cyclops that his name was "No-Man" and the wine soon put the Cyclops to sleep. You all know the rest of the story -- Odysseus and the remainder of his men burned the Cyclops' eye out. And since Odysseus tricked him into thinking his name was "No-Man," the Cyclops is not able to get help from his friends. Odysseus even managed to trick the Cyclops again when he and his men escaped from the cave by walking beneath the rams' bellies. Through this trickery, Odysseus is able to get away alive and tell the story; however, it essentially gets him nowhere in the end since Poseidon has made it his personal mission to make sure Odysseus doesn't get back home alive. The trickery of Odysseus, regardless, makes him look brave and daring, rather than stupid and cocky. 

The females in the Odyssey, unfortunately have it worse. Their trickery is admirable but creates a far more negative representation for females than it does for males. It's really not fair, since I feel that the women in this epic are far more sensible and clever than the men; I realize, though, that this was the common view held by the ancient Greeks and Romans. To think about it, even the most advanced of cultures regarded women as objects and property rather than resourceful and knowledgeable members of society. 

Penelope's main role in the Odyssey is a dejected and lonely woman who uses trickery to ward chauvinistic men who are all trying to be the next of Ithaca. Her form of trickery is more honorable than what her husband did (remember that he is the mastermind of the Trojan horse, too) because she is in a helpless position and this is the best she can do. She can choose to give in or she can choose to remain strong and in control of her life, and by tricking these suitors, she manages to do the latter. In the context of the story, however, she isn't being smart and resourceful -- she's being deceptive and cowardly. The suitors blame her trickery for the state of Ithaca and the absence of a king. Instead of seeing it as a way for her to escape her ugly situation, the suitors see it as something she devised out of her own selfishness.

Calypso, in the same way, is also a sad and lonely woman who tries to brainwash Odysseus into becoming her lifelong companion but ultimately fails. On the surface, Calypso is viewed as a beautiful and dangerous woman who is preying on Odysseus and trying to force him into a life he doesn't want. It's true that she's a goddess and that she has everything, and that she is being selfish when she ties Odysseus down even though it's clear he doesn't want any of it (I'm sure he enjoyed some things, though). Those are the facts, and because of Odysseus's pitiful situation and fate as a lost hero, Calypso is seen as an obstacle to overcome, a source of sexual trickery that Odysseus has to defeat with his own, ACCEPTABLE trickery. Calypso, I believe, is a foil to Penelope. Her life is much different than Penelope's, of course, but in many ways they are the same. Calypso doesn't have a lover; she thinks she's found one in Odysseus but he leaves her, too, despite everything she tries to do. Penelope had no choice in Odysseus's role as a king and soldier. They both accept that they must use trickery to improve their lives in any way possible. While Odysseus gets credit for using tricks to become a hero, these poor women are seen as sexual objects whose trickery only distracts and brings men to their downfall. 

In short, trickery associated with women tends to be more negatively viewed than that associated with men.