Roles Of Women In The Odyssey

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Women have been considered inferior to men throughout history. This can be seen especially in Homer’s poem, The Odyssey. In The Odyssey, all women are subservient to men, portraying them as property and tools of men.
Although Kalypso was able to keep Odysseus on her island, she must obey demands given to her by Hermes, showing that she can be used as a tool by Hermes. With one short visit by Hermes, Kalypso is forced to let Odysseus go. “That goddess most divinely made” makes her resentment to this order known by “[shuddering] before [Hermes]” and yelling, “Oh you vile gods” (84). In response, Hermes declares Kalypso to “show more grace in [her] obedience, or be chastised by Zeus” (85). Kalypso agrees to send Odysseus out to sea, knowing that …show more content…
She tricks the suitors by telling them to, “let [her] finish [her] weaving before [she marries]” (22). However, this is a trick, as she unravels her work at night. Penelope is able to keep her loyalty to Odysseus, even when there are many suitors pressuring her to mary. She is not able to be controlled by the suitors that are plundering her house. While she is able to trick the suitors, she cannot outpower her son, Telemakhos. Telemakhos, tells her to “return to [her] own hall. Tend your spindle. . . . [He is] master here” (402). Telemakhos clearly states his authority, and orders her back to her room. Penelope follows Telemakhos’s orders, revealing subservience to Telemakhos. While Penelope is able to fend off the suitors and resist being married, she must follow Telemakhos’s orders.
Merely the property of men, women are controlled and manipulated in the Odyssey. Kirke and Kalypso, women of immortal status, are overpowered by Odysseus and Hermes. The suitors are able to lure the maids, women of already low status, away from their loyalty to Odysseus. Euryklea, a character who Odysseus and Telemakhos have trust in throughout the poem, obeys Odysseus’s orders out of fear of being killed. The actions of all of these women, immortal or not, show their lack of power and ability to be controlled by
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