Women Role in World Literature - Essay Example

7 April Assignment Women hold a very powerful role in society; since times immemorial, they have been playing a vital part in raising a family, taking decisions, handling work and business, taking care of their husband’s and children’s lifestyle, helping their parents and other family members, etc. They have always maintained a very high repute within society for being able to juggle all these different roles simultaneously, but have never been given the kind of respect that they should have, especially in under developed countries around the world. In olden day literature as well, women have held important positions in managing families and taking care of work. With the help of various pieces like the Mahabharata, Gita, Ramayana, Lisystrata and Oedipus, the role of women in various aspects including the household and industry have been depicted with the help of examples within the purview of this essay. Women have always been known to be of the emotional kind; they portray their feelings regardless of what others might think; they do not think twice before crying or displaying their affection and happiness. For them, it is very important to be able to display one’s emotions. Women thus are able to take excellent care of the home as they nurture it and turn it into a household of joy and laughter for others to live in. For example, Draupadi’s role as a wife to the five Pandava brothers as she helped transform their lives into a cheerful and hospitable one by providing them with good food, shelter as well as the required resources and peace of mind when they returned home every evening. Women are extremely hospitable because they love taking care of those that visit them; they prepare food, take care of others’ health and help them sort out their issues. For example, Oedipus’s wife and mother, Iokaste, has the largest role in the play as she was presented to the ruler as a gift. However, she presented herself in a beautiful manner and held her emotions within her stride as she took on the household and helped her husband make decisions regarding his life. Even though she was seen as property in the eyes of the ruler, she did her best to make the palace a home from the agonizing place it actually was. According to the Bhagavad Gita, women have always been thought of as inferior and meek creatures because of their fragility and frailness. It is written, “And when immorality prevails, O Krishna, the women of the family become corrupted; when women are corrupted, social problems arise.” They have been looked upon as emotional beings that are not capable of handling affairs of work and thus must take care of the household. In the Mahabharata, women have been praised to a great extent because of these characteristics of theirs. Their meekness and feelings have given them an excellent name; Draupadi from the story, for example, is seen as a young woman full of respect for her elders, treating others well and being perfectly hospitable. Within the story, she depicts her pain through the misgivings of the family, however at the same time, helps all the five Panadava brothers in order to overcome their domestic issues. Gandhari, the wife of Dhrtarashtra, was known for her loyalty to her husband. She decides to deprive herself of eyesight to experience the handicap of her husband. She participates in the decisions relating to the kingdom and never lives away from her husband. Gandhari is portrayed as a jealous mother. Upon learning about Yudhishtra’s birth, she becomes impatient and breaks the lump of flesh she has given birth to. She tries to be impartial towards the Pandavas but always envies their achievements. She loves her son to the extent of tolerating and sometimes supporting his meanness. ` Despite the excellent qualities that women possess, they are condemned by men and not treated equally with them. This may be seen within any story written back then or even now for that matter. Women are always seen to be the less strong beings. In all these pieces of literature, they have never been able to hold a strong position during war time, according to men. However, it must be seen that it was the women folk that helped men gain the motivation and inspiration to fight wars. Women have been teaching men sensibility since a long time. A man’s mind is very mechanical and works as per the situation that he is within. A woman on the other hand, takes into account every moment that has passed and understand whether or not the fight is inevitable or admissible to an end. This is how they have primarily been making decisions for men on the war path. In the Ramayana, it was because of the motivation of Sita that Ram was able to gather courage and fight Ravana in order to free her. He was able to gain help from Hanumana in order to rescue his maiden from the clutches of evil. Sita helped him along the way by giving him tips and tricks on how to get her back. In the Mahabharata as well, Draupadi’s decision making helped the Pandava brothers to brave the war at Kurukshetra. Lysistrata depicts the two sides of a woman; her subservience as well as the influence she can have on others. In the story, the female protagonist depicts manly traits in the political and social circle. The play helps to depict the sexual stance that even a woman can have towards another woman. During the Athenian and Spartan struggle, it was Lysistrata that helped other women feel better about themselves and their menfolk rather than have other men talk to them and make them feel uncomfortable. "Ye Women must Wive ye warre!"—a rewrite of Homer's text, "Ye Menne must see to Ye warre." (This passage from the Iliad means "What Athens needs is a Man," or, in the case of Lysistrata, "What Athens needs is a Woman.")Therefore, women have been depicted to have decision making roles within the home as well as outside as shown in the examples from various pieces of literature. Indirectly, they have a strong hold over men and influence their thoughts to a great extent because at the end of the day, every man wants a woman to be by his side and help him make the wisest of decisions. Women have been known to be the lesser mortals as compared to men, however history has shown us time and again that they possess equal if not more, intelligence and wisdom. In the story of the Mahabharata, it is Draupadi’s wisdom that helps the Pandava brothers hide in the forest during their exile and keep an eye on the palace in order to know what is going on. She sacrifices herself in order to help the men get the life that they always had and wanted. Her intelligent decisions and ideas helped them get through the long period of years that they were banished from the kingdom. According to the Gita, women are said to be spiritual as well. They have as much sense as men and have been regarded to have a better emotional quotient than men. They are much more devoted as per some shlokas due to a better frame of mind that they possess. In Lysistrata, the main protagonist has been shown to possess excellent wit and wisdom as she makes all the decisions regarding political situations and how to handle them. In the story of Julius Caesar as well, it is Calphurnia, Caesar’s wife, who tells him about her premonition regarding his impending death. She warns him from going to the senate on the ides of March as she had a nightmare about his death; however Caesar, adamant about his confidence and pompousness, throws away her words of wisdom and goes against her wishes, and ends up dying at the hands of his friend and aide, Brutus. Thus, with the help of various examples, it may be understood that a woman’s intelligence and wisdom should not be undermined because it can take people places. In order to sum up, various conclusions have been drawn from pieces of old world literature as discussed within the purview of this paper in order to determine the stance of women in the world. They may be meek, however they possess utmost strength; they may be frail however they have intelligence and wisdom if not the same, then better than that of most men. Women thus hold a very important role within society; as discussed from the pages of Oedipus to Lysistrata and Julius Caesar, and Ramayana to the Mahabharata and Gita, women have proven time and again to be the equal of a man. The old saying, ‘behind every successful man there lies the mark of a woman,’ thus holds true and is justified according to the examples cited within this essay. Women are not the lesser mortals, in fact they help men make the most important of decisions because of their emotional quotient, something men lack as a majority. Women help to raise the future, and thus form the backbone of history. Even today in the modern world, there are many authors that have written accounts of women not being treated the way they should or the way they were in the olden days. Women deserve a great amount of respect and reputation within society and should be given so because as explained above, they are extremely beautiful and hospitable beings, providing solace and affection to the human race. Works Cited “Women and Power in Agamemnon and Lysistrata.” Article Myriad. Web. 7 April 2012. . “Women in Mahabharata.” Random Walk. Web. 7 April 2012. . Read More