The Placement of Female Characters in Homer's The Odyssey - Essay Example

?The Placement of Female Characters in Homer’s The Odyssey Many of the epics that survived up to the present depict extraordinary deeds of heroes whoare often portrayed as mortals having god-like characteristics such as uncanny facial or physical features, super-human physical prowess, or unparalleled calculating mental abilities. The strength of these stories in becoming well-known lies not only in the abilities of the main characters alone, but also the journeys, quests, and other adventures that test the limits of the physical and mental endurance of the heroes. Other characters included in such stories are often placed in ways that put greater emphasis on the main characters’ strengths, weaknesses, and ability to overcome such weaknesses to show their true strength. It is noticeable that in most of these stories, the main hero is often a male protagonist, while some, if not all of the antagonists are females. This can be traced from some patriarchal societies’ notion of portraying masculinity or the male gender mostly in a positive light, such as having highly-regarded traits like intelligence, sense of justice, strong-will, honesty, and courage, among others. On the other hand, females or femininity is often portrayed negatively such as being weak physically and mentally weak, highly emotional, cunning, dishonest, and that they often cause temptations. Such traits often show how female characters cause the male heroes to fall from grace, become weak, or delay the heroes’ quest. Writers or storytellers depict female characters to be either against the heroes, for example villains, or as supporting characters to the heroes, such as family members, friends, servants, or guardians. By illustrating females in such ways, not only do the heroes’ quests become glorified but at the same time touches the hearts of readers, but in a way it also celebrates the importance of male dominance during such time when the stories were written in that particular society. These portrayals of females in stories such as epics are exemplified by the many female characters in Homer’s Odyssey, which not only include Odysseus’s wife and servants, but also the goddesses, immortals, ghosts, and other female characters that he met in his quests. Most of the females that Odysseus encounters and fights with are immortals, of which the most notable one is the nymph Calypso from the first book, who detains him for seven years and causes most of the long delay in his quest to return home: The nymph Calypso, a powerful goddess- And beautiful- was clinging to him In her caverns and yearned to possess him. (Homer Book 1 lines 17-19) These lines clearly show how Calypso’s strong will to keep Odysseus in her island of Ogygia causes the hero’s journey to extend, placing him in even more misery and homesickness as depicted in the following lines: “… Only Odysseus/ Still longed to return to his home and his wife” (Homer Book 1 lines 15-16). As such, if Calypso was removed from the story at all, Odysseus has higher chances of getting home earlier within the story’s timeline, and in a way this shows how a female causes a delay in the hero’s quest. Other female immortal characters portrayed as antagonists to the hero are the Sirens, who … bewitch all men ……………………… They loll in a meadow, and around them are piled The bones of shriveled and moldering bodies. (Homer Book 12 lines 41, 47-48) the six-headed monster Scylla living and hiding in a cave who … barks and yelps Like a young puppy but she is a monster, ……………………… … With each head she carries off a man, Snatching him out of his dark-prowed vessel. (Homer Book 12 lines 88-89, 101-102). and the nearby whirlpool Charybdis who Sucks down the black water. Three times a day She belches it out and three times a day She sucks it down horribly. … (Homer Book 12 lines 107-109) All three of these antagonists were woven into the story to bring harm to the hero, as well as to test his strength and wits. Openly portraying females as monsters that aim to bring the hero to his ruin shows how femininity and being a female in general is not something worth praising for, which also makes for an easier glorification of masculinity as depicted through the hero’s victory over these female monsters, and in a way this contributes to the solidifying and justifying of male dominance in ancient Greece. Many of the monsters may have been portrayed as females, but there are also many females that were shown to be Odysseus’ strong supporters and allies. While for most this may seem to show that females are incapable of showing their own strength and are thus mostly placed on the sidelines, but such portrayals also subtly show the importance of assistance when in need, which in a way emphasizes the main protagonists’ weaknesses that supporting characters can compensate for. For example, Penelope, Odysseus’ wife stands out as his main source of strength and will to get home as fast as he possibly could, as previously mentioned in the first book, lines 15-16. Aside from her presence in the story, another female character that Odysseus gives high regard to is his nurse Eurycleia, whom he asks for to bathe him, and later shares his identity with even before he mentions the matter to his own wife. Eurycleia finds out Odysseus’s true identity by washing his feet, hearing his voice, and seeing his scar, exclaiming “You are Odysseus, dear child. I did not know you/ Until I laid my hands on my master’s body” (Homer Book 19 lines 520-521). Lastly, a young Phaeacian princess named Nausicaa contributes greatly to bring Odysseus back home after she brings him to her father’s palace with his hopes of gaining a crew and a ship to Ithaca, which happened through a divine intervention by Athena, Odysseus’ long-time goddess protector, and is discussed in Book 19. Aside from the mortal females portrayed as the damsel in distress and strong supporters of the main character, immortals and goddesses were also shown to provide aid to Odysseus in his travels. One of these strong female allies is the goddess Athena, depicted to provide Odysseus with all the help that he needs, enabling him to survive long after most of his crew already went to the underworld. Athena expresses her pity over Odysseus’s situation, even bringing it to her father Zeus, ruler of the Olympians: “Yes, O our Father who art most high- ……………………… But it’s Odysseus I’m worried about, That discerning, ill-fated man. He’s suffered So long, separated from his dear ones (Homer Book 1 lines 50, 53-55) If Athena’s support for Odysseus to get back to Ithaca did not have any merit, not only would have his return journey delayed, but it might not have happen at all, and there is a possibility that he will be forever trapped in Calypso’s island. He might also have difficulty fighting the mass of suitors that were continually harassing his son and wife and depleting his estate’s resources if Athena did not give assistance by deflecting the suitors’ weapons from Odysseus and “…made most of them miss/ One man hitting the doorpost, another the door” (Homer Book 22 lines 290-291). Lastly, if were not for Athena bloodshed might have continued in Ithaca through Odysseus’ family line, appearing as a goddess herself to intervene: “ITHACANS! Lay down your arms now, / And go your ways with no more bloodshed” (Homer Book 24 lines 552-553). Her frequent assistances to Odysseus and his family remind readers that while he may have god-like strength in mind and body, he is still human and will still need the protection and assistance of gods. In a way Athena’s presence makes Odysseus’ character less intimidating and more endearing amongst audiences because even through his painful experiences, he is still a man favored by the gods. The role of females and their placement in stories such as in Homer’s epic The Odyssey did not take center stage, and instead are limited to antagonistic or minor roles. Females are portrayed as antagonists that cause harm to the main character Odysseus such as the nymph Calypso who detained him in her island for many years, and the two sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis which Odysseus had to avoid in order to stay alive, and such depictions imply that females or femininity bring upon the ruin or the hardships of the hero. In a way these portrayals also represent the patriarchal mindset in Ancient Greece that pushes back the importance of women in society. However, depictions of females are not limited to villains, as some of them also have minor roles in making the hero stand out while at the same time retaining most of his human nature intact, which were the roles of loyal supporters in Odysseus’ quests such as his wife Penelope, his nurse Eurycleia, the Phaeacian princess Nausicaa, and even the goddess Athena. Such portrayals of female characters were done so that lesser attention will be drawn to them, and this instead brings greater emphasis on the hero Odysseus himself, not only to his strengths but also to his other painful experiences. The downgrading of female characters in the epic by turning females into lesser roles were essential for the hero’s success and his adventures to be remarkable, which aside from making the character’s personality stand out yet seem more human and relatable by most, by only allowing females to assist the main character and not giving them major roles in the story, the strength and importance of masculinity and all of its associated positive traits are subtly praised and uplifted without putting femininity in a negative light. Work Cited Homer. The Essential Odyssey. Trans. Stanley Lombardo. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2007. Print. Read More