What is the Unique Role of Female Characters in Homer's Odyssey
Despite the time period in which The Odyssey takes place, where men are the heads of households and held the power, The Odyssey presents women as influential members of the community. Female characters either assisted males in achieving essential goals or influenced their actions and contributed to the failure. However, their roles seem complicated since some women engaged in unwarranted activities like deceit. While one may view The Odyssey as a narrative that promotes a patriarchal system, women played a unique role in supporting men to succeed or fail in their lives. In female characters in Homer's Odyssey essay the topic of depiction of women is discussed.
Athena plays an instrumental role through The Odyssey by aiding Telemachus and Odysseus throughout their lives. While trying to convince Zeus as to why Odysseus should be saved from Calypso’s island, Athena states: “My heart breaks for Odysseus, that seasoned veteran cursed by fate so long (79).” Athena convinced Zeus to assist Odysseus in escaping from the island, not using her physical strength, but instead, emphasizes Odseeus’s suffering to free him. Athena supports Odysseus on multiple occasions, including his shipwreck in Book five and his battle with the suitors in the last few books. During the battle with the suitors, the only time Athena steps in to physically help Odysseus is when she shields him from the suitor’s spears. Athena lets Odysseus fight by himself for the majority of his fight with the suitors because she knows that he has the ability to defeat them all alone. Athena also recognizes that Telemachus has never seen his father’s capabilities, but has heard many stories of them. Athena uses her godly powers to transform Odysseus into a more masculine version of himself mutliple times throughout the epic.
Odyssey presents women as people who supported feminism during the seventh century. Agamemnon imposed some rules that undermined the ability of females to take part in men’s affairs. The case shows how the ancient community undermined the strength of women to influence decisions. Besides, males focused on establishing a patriarchal society that would deny women equal opportunities under all circumstances. Athena opposed the demeaning role given to women in her community by planning on how Telemachus would welcome Odysseus. Athena arranged how Telemachus would meet Odysseus after his release from the island. She seems to influence what would befall Odysseus after the arrival from bondage. Calypso imposes temporary immobility on men to oppose the patriarchal society. Calypso used her charming beauty to confuse Odysseus and force him to remain in her isle for some years. Her ability to control the action of a renowned demigod reveals that women of the seventh century promoted feminism. Therefore, Odyssey depicts some women as opposing the establishment of a patriarchal society.
Odyssey presents women as limiting and misleading persons. An excellent example is where Helen uses a drug to influence Telemachus' thoughts concerning his revenge mission. Telemachus was in an undertaking to search for information concerning his father, who was away for a long time. Helen mixes his wine with a drug that has a mixture of good or bad components secretly. The chemical used by Helen cause Telemachus to forget about his mission and recall the events of the Trojan War. The women managed to limit Telemachus’ ability to accomplish his core mission and mislead him to engaging in irrelevant activities. The stories of Odysseus’ exploitation in the Trojan War were not significant to the Telemachus’ mission. Helen uses a drug that symbolizes her deceiving character. The unique medicine could cause good and bad effects at the same. In this case, it portrays the unique character portrayed by Helen in manipulating people to engage in actions that would fulfill her wishes. Therefore, Odyssey depicts women as characters who controlled and misinformed men to engage in specific acts.
Odyssey presents women as people who influenced the fate of men. Penelope, Odysseus’ wife, has a character that resembles that of Artemis. The statement implies that Penelope had the freedom to choose what to do with her husband. She could opt to betray him or remain a faithful woman to Odysseus. During his stay in Phaeacia Island, Odysseus longed to meet his wife and son. In this case, the famous warrior was not sure if his dream would come true. Besides, he could not determine if he would reunite with his family. Penelope appears to have a character that resembles Helena, which cultivates a climate of suspicion on the decision that she would take concerning Odysseus. Readers remain uncertain if Penelope uses her sexuality to enable or prevent Odysseus’ return. She could shut her subjectivity as a wife, which would obscure her husbands’ intentions to reunite with the family. Therefore, women in Odyssey can determine the fate of their male partners through their ability to choose between evil and good.
In conclusion, women in the narrative Odyssey played a unique role in supporting men to succeed or fail in their lives. Athena helped Odysseus to escape from the island controlled by Calypso. Athens used her character to assist the renowned demigod in achieving its dream of reuniting with his family. Other women like Helen and Calypso used their potential to defeat men. However, they played a significant role in promoting feminism in their community. The findings show how Helen used her bad and good character to hinder Telemachus from completing his mission to search for information concerning his father. Lastly, Penelope could support or fail her husband's mission to reunite with his family. Thus, women in Odyssey could support or hinder men from achieving their life goals.
Works Cited
- Homer. The Odyssey. Translated by Robert Fagles, Penguin, 1996.
