Gender Roles In The Odyssey

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Breaking Through Gender Roles As history goes on, women have been revolutionizing their past archetypal and societal roles. Today, when looking at archetypal roles it is hard to recognize the way women used to be portrayed. Not only do we see the archetypes transforming in real life, but also in stories. After analyzing a collection of stories, it is evident that as literature becomes more modern, no women in each story are the same. Women take a more leading role rather than being a second choice or more of a behind the scenes character like a temptress or maiden. Through closely examining three pieces of literature proves that women have been kicking down gender roles since ancient Greece when Penelope was Odysseus’ wife in the early poem, The Odyssey, to …show more content…
Today, it is clear that there has been a shift in the typical female character. Now, the hero is often a female instead of male who puts other people over themselves, or a women is an essential part in the hero’s journey.

In the past, men have always been known to be the hero; however, overtime they have become more dependent on women for help. For example, Penelope had been without her other half for nearly ten years. She was upset and still weeped years after Odysseus left Ithaca. In the Odyssey, it states, “Now Penelope sank down… and drew her husband’s great bow out, and sobbed and bit her lip and let the salt tears flow,” (Homer. 21. 15-18). This quote is showing that after ten years of no word from Odysseus, Penelope still believes that Odysseus is out there and will come back for her. Penelope was taught that she wasn’t able to provide for herself or be without a man. During this time period women had no opinion or say in anything. Their role in a household was cooking, cleaning, and taking care of kids. In the story, men were fighting for the throne and not for Penelope as a person.This shows that women weren’t important to men and were only

The Odyssey - Gender Roles Essay

The Odyssey is the product of a society in which the dominant role was played by men. In ancient Greece, just as in the whole of the ancient world, and in America and Western Europe until the last century, women occupied a subservient position. Society was organized and directed by men, and all of the most important enterprises were those which men arranged and implemented. Women were valued, but they participated in the affairs of the world only when they had the tacit or open approval and permission…

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Gender Roles In Homer's The Odyssey

translated work such as in Homer’s The Odyssey, translators are bound to find aspects in the epic that they feel are best represented in differing ways. This is because every person is different, and due to these dissimilarities it is impossible to identify meanings within the text shy of reading the original text, which is impossible for most who partake of modern literature. That is why, in order to come to a more full understanding of any translated work like The Odyssey for oneself, one must explore multiple…

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Odysseus Depiction Of Gender Roles In Homer's Odyssey

up within. The center of gravity is exhibited as the raw emotional weight is highest with Odysseus and his struggles. Moreover, this demonstrates the comparison to most superficial depictions of gender roles. Odysseus’ vulnerability is shown while addressing the true difficulties of males in gender roles. He is shown to be “weeping, crying aloud in…

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Essay Odysseus

Angela Sun Reading Cultures 29 January 2015 Essay One Infidelity and revenge in The Odyssey as explored through a gendered lens In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, a war hero by the name of Odysseus attempts to return to his wife and son in Ithaca. Littered throughout the poem are short anecdotes told by humans, bards, and gods. From the suicide of Ajax to the revenge of Orestes, these recounts serve to enrich The Odyssey’s already fantastical and mythical tone. Interestingly, several of these tales…

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The Odyssey Sirens Research Paper

ambulances, they are mythological creatures that are half-woman and half-bird. Sirens were first mentioned in Homer’s The Odyssey, written in about 750 BC. In this work, they are described as “deluders” and “charmers” and are considered very beautiful. Sirens also appear in a poem by famous 1970’s author and poet, Margaret Atwood, entitled, “Siren Song”. Atwood wrote primarily about gender roles, and stereotypes, specifically of women. She introduces the concept of sirens in a whole new light, sharing much…

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essay one

The Older, The Better For my essay I have decided to compare The Odyssey and Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth. I chose to compare these two literary works because they intrigued me and were very entertaining to read. They are also some of the oldest literary works known to have been written by man and predate the modern Christian era. So, they are heavily influenced by the people of the time and cultures that they lived in, as well as the beliefs that they shared about the world. These works…

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Odyssey Sirens

The purpose of the sirens in these two works is very different from each other. For example, in The Odyssey, sirens are there to show the power of men: their strengths, heroics and confidence. Sirens are just another obstacle for Odysseus and his crew to overcome; they're just another burden to the journey, nothing more. “Till, dying off, the distant sounds decay; Then scudding swiftly from the dangerous ground, The deafen’d ear unlock’d, the chains abound. (Lines 48-50)” Before this, Odysseus had…

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The Epic Hero In The Odyssey

In book XXII of the epic poem The Odyssey, Homer uses lines 1-43 to strengthen the epic hero’s characteristic of having the will to destroy in order to cleanse and remain loyal to his family. This is achieved through the use of imagery and diction. The nature in which Odysseus kills the suitors is brutal, but is done in the regard of avenging his personal honor. When Odysseus claims his first victim, Antinous, Homer describes his death vividly, “The arrow struck Antinous in the throat, and the…

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Female Characters In Homer's Odyssey

they are portrayed in two separate ways. For example, the queen of Ithaca, a mortal woman, Penelope, seems to be very attracting considering the fact she has multitudes of suitors pleading for her hand in marriage. However, it is later on in The Odyssey, that we see how low mortal women are in society. This is mainly shown when Telemachus has to choose a suitor for his mother to marry. It is not of modern society that a son has more power in the society than his mother. Also, another incident in…

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Ethical Issues In The Odyssey Essay

works that have characters who struggle with moral decisions from within, and later grow from their life decisions, are known as bildungsromans. There have been many pieces throughout history that assimilate to this literary genre. One of which, The odyssey, will be used in this essay. Throughout this paper I will discuss the ethical issues of bribery, deception,…

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