Discussion Topic
Portrayal of gender and interactions between male and female characters in The Odyssey
Summary:
In The Odyssey, gender roles are clearly defined, with male characters often depicted as warriors and leaders, while female characters are portrayed in domestic roles or as goddesses with significant influence. Interactions between male and female characters frequently highlight themes of loyalty, power, and temptation, with women like Penelope embodying fidelity and others like Circe and Calypso representing both danger and allure.
How are masculinities and femininities portrayed in the Odyssey, and how do male and female characters interact?
The Odyssey is characterized by a strict gender division between men and women, which is underscored by women being confined to the household sphere, while men are sent out into the world as warriors and explorers.
Strength and the ability to fight are integral to a man's sense of identity in this epic. Odysseus is praised repeatedly for his strength and courage; he often recounts his exploits in the Trojan war, and he exhibits his masculinity through raids and the besting of others in battle.
Women, on the other hand, are judged by their faithfulness to their husbands. Penelope represents the feminine ideal in the Greek world, as she is unwaveringly loyal to her spouse and stretches herself to the utmost to avoid remarrying.
Being hardworking and a good household manager are also essential attributes of a good woman, as the wealth of a household was all-important to maintaining social...
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status. Penelope shines in this regard as well. Her willingness to weave and pull apart her weaving on a nightly basis is evidence not just of her loyalty to her husband but also of her capacity to work hard and use her wits to manage difficult household situations.
Nevertheless, women were treated as second-class citizens who must stay outside of the male realm. For instance, Penelope accepts it when Telemachus, her son, tells her to leave, using terms that assert his male superiority:
go to your room and occupy yourself with your own affairs, weaving and spinning and tell your maids to get busy. Poetry is the concern of men, particularly of me since I hold authority in the house.
On the other hand, a goddess like Athena, though female, is spoken of (and to) much differently by the men, because gods are superior to humans. Nestor, for example, says to Telemachus,
Would that bright-eyed Athena should care to love you as once she cherished mighty Ulysses
We see throughout the poem that men and women have very different roles in society and that hierarchy is all-important; a goddess who is a female is treated by males with a deference not afforded to human women.
That's a tall order. How about we just focus on the two central male and female characters, Penelope and Odysseus?
Penelope is fiercly loyal to her long-absent husband. Despite the pressure from many suitors, she cleverly puts them off with her embroidery scheme. When Odysseus comes to her in disguise, she reveals just how much she loves and is loyal to him. She says,
"Stranger, my beauty went forfeit to the Gods the day my Husband sailed with the Argives, for Troy. Should he return,
to cherish me, my fortune and favour would improve. As it is, Heaven afflicts me too sorely. All the island Chiefs court me uninvited, and ravage the Estate: While I neglect my guests, the suppliants that come, and even Heralds on a mission, to eat my heart out for Odysseus."
Odysseus longs for home and Penelope is largely the resaon why he tries so stridently to return for so many years.Women are enjoyed for their charms and sexual favors but they do not have Odysseus's heart as does his wife.
He treats men according to how well they live up to his own high standards of loyalty, bravery, and tenacity. Those who fall short are dealt with severly; those who are true are rewarded. Telemachus fulfills his father's expectations; the suitors are slaughtered.
A few distinct moments from The Odyssey stick out to me in regard to this topic. First, early on, Zeus sends Hermes to tell Calypso that she must give up Odysseus and permit him to leave her island to make his way home to Ithaca. She points out a double standard that really bothers her: gods are allowed to sleep with whichever mortal women they choose, but goddesses are prevented from having relationships with mortal men. Calypso tells Hermes,
Hard are you gods and envious beyond all to grudge that goddesses should mate with men and take without disguise mortals for lovers. Thus when rosy-fingered Dawn chose Orion for her lover, you gods that live at east soon so begrudged him that at Ortygia chaste Artemis from her golden throne attacked and slew him with her gentle arrows. Again when fair-haired Demeter, yielding to her heart, met Jason in the thrice-ploughed field, not long was Zeus unmindful, but hurled a gleaming bolt and laid him low. So again now you gods grudge me the mortal tarrying here.
She provides two examples of goddesses who watched their mortal lovers be killed by the gods; they were denied the opportunity to maintain a relationship with mortal men. She knows that she cannot go against Zeus, but she voices her anger about the fact that female goddesses are not permitted to engage in the same behavior that male gods are.
Further, when Odysseus returns to his home in Ithaca, he and his son brutally slay the suitors who had been exploiting the rules of hospitality in his home. One could argue that his actions are justified as a result of their behavior. However, he also has the maids of his home who "consorted" with these suitors hanged. There seems to be little understanding on his part that these powerless, servant women would have had no real choice if confronted by powerful men. They would have to be polite, subservient, and even sexually submissive. Rather than keep this reality in mind, Odysseus kills them too. Likewise, despite the fact that he has not been faithful to his wife, Penelope, Odysseus expects her to have been faithful to him during his twenty-year absence.
We can see, from these few examples, that there are certainly a number of double standards surrounding gender and sexuality. Men, including gods, can sleep with whomever they choose, but there are different restrictions on women, including goddesses. Men are not expected to remain sexually faithful to their wives, though they expect their wives to be faithful. Worst of all is the lack of recognition that such double standards exist at all and that women are held to different standards than men.
How is gender portrayed in The Odyssey? Consider interactions, behaviors, and the ultimate fates of both male and female characters.
Please note: The post appears to contain a complete assignment and has numerous questions. The eNotes Homework Help policy allows for one question per post, to be used to help do an assignment. This answer suggests characters and scenes to examine that are particularly relevant for gender relations in Homer’s Odyssey.
The primary human relationship considered is between Odysseus and Penelope. His wife is the most important female character and has considerable responsibilities as a surrogate ruler in her husband’s absence. Penelope exhibits strength, nobility, and virtue as well as ingenuity in fending off the suitors. In addition to considering her relationship with Odysseus, which we see clearly when he finally returns, one must consider the contrast between the suitors’ behavior toward her, which indicates a very different attitude toward women than that of the hero/husband.
Numerous instances occur of Odysseus’s attitude toward and interactions with women who are not his wife. Resisting temptation, including sexual temptation, is a major theme of the epic. The relative capabilities of a mortal man as compared to a divine woman also raises interesting issues of power dynamics. One might analyze his relationship with Calypso, as he refuses the tempting offer to be made immortal yet lingers on the island.