Women in the Odyssey

Women form an important part of each society, however their role and importance to its function are often times overlooked. Society is/was organized and directed by men. All of the most important positions and purposes within it`s routine were filled by males. This societal organization is often times reflected in many pieces of literature of various time periods, however there are texts in which contrary to the patriarchal society models, women are given substantial importance within the plot. Homer`s The Odyssey, Heart of Darnkness by Joseph Conrad and Aeschylus`s Oresteia each demonstrate or conceal female importance in a given society.

The Odyssey was written in a time when men played the dominant role. In ancient Greece, women occupied a subservant position. Women were valued, but vastly for their sex appeal, beauty or ability to continue their husbands` legacy by birthing an heir. Homer, however, defies these standards by giving women power equal to men in his literature as well as well-defined personalities, nevertheless, females are still classified into specific categories. The very first book of The Odyssey and the very first stanza even, demonstrate the driving force women are in the epic: "Sing to me of the man, Muse... daughter of Zeus, start from where you will..."(1.1-12). The narrator asks a woman, to inspire him to tell the whole story of Odysseus and gives her the freedom to begin wherever she desires, this foreshadows the importance of a woman throughout the text.

There are three basic types of women in the The Odyssey; there is the "goddess", the "example/good wife", and the "seductress/whore". The role of a goddess is of a supernatural woman, she is above men, however she concerns herself with Odyseeus` fate and assists him all along his nostos. This shows Athena`s high stature as a goddess, but at the same time belittles her status because she takes so much interest in Odysseus` mortal affairs. Athena is the driving force behind Odysseus` successful return home, which exemplifies her importance in the plot, and is especially significant because she is a female.

Penelope is undoubtfully classified as the "good wife". She is unbroken by the suitor`s desires "...to lie beside her, share her bed.." (1. 420-21) offers of marriage and happiness. She does not dare to deny them stay in her home, drink her wine and spend her husband`s forturne because she is a woman and cannot outwardly refuse a man. Homer gives her power to rebell quietly instead; she devises tricks to delay her suitors, one of which is pretending to weave a burial shroud for Odysseus' elderly father Laertes and claiming she will choose one suitor when she has finished. Every night for three years she undoes part of the shroud, until the suitors discover her trickery. Homer gifts Penelope`s character with intelligence and whit, and diminishes the suitors in the eyes of a reader because they are deceived by Penelope and are unable to win her hand in marriage.

The last type of a woman reperesented in the The Odyssey , the direct opposite of "good wife", is the "seductress". This is a woman who poses as a challenge to the epic hero. He must resist her or it will lead him to his downfall. Calypso is the most powerful of the seductresses in the epic because Odysseus does not even possess the power to escape her. Odysseus falls into the trap of the "great goddess" (5.236-37), given no other choice, and emotionally betrays Penelope, who in his words "...falls short of you [Calypso], your beauty, stature. She is mortal after all and you never age of die..." Through Odysseus` affair with Calypso, and Penelope`s ability to stay faithful, the two characters are contrasted in their strength to stay loyal to the other. Odysseus, a man, fails.

Quite similar to the portrayal of women in The Odyssey, Aeschylus` Oresteia empowers females and moves away from the traditional "passive woman" character. Even though the women of Oresteia are evil and malicious, the fact that Aeschylus allows them to be so, is making them the center of conflict of the tragedy. Athena, once again, is shown as having power over men and mortals, the citizens feel "sheltered under Athene`s wings" (3.1000-02) she brings justice and leads the tragic trilogy to a conclusion , just as she helps conclude Odysseus` nostos to Ithaca.

Clytaemestra, whose infidelity and Agamemnon`s murder create a domino effect, which in turn brings a reign of chaos and killing begins as conspiracies and family secrets are reveled. Clytaemestra can be viewed as the unethical, evil character, nevertheless, her independed will and ability to murder, translate into strength and intellect. Clytaemestra drives the plot into "the complicated" which forms the majority of the tragedy itself.

In contrast with The Odyssey and Oresteia, a much more recent work, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, women serve as supplements to men`s actions and they are passive characters at mercy of the leading males. Females in Heart of Darkness can be similarly divided into three categories parallel to The Odyssey, yet with major differences. Marlow`s aunt " a dear enthusiastic soul...ready to do anything, anything for [Marlow] " (pg.72) could be identified as the "goddess" who is willing to help in any way possible, she is the higher class white civilized woman who lives in a surreal world, nonertheless she does not possess any power of Marlow like Athena does over men of The Odyssey.

Kurtz`s native mistress is the "seductress/whore". Instead of seducing Kurtz however, she is seduced by him, she is seen as a "whore" by the reader. Like Calypso, she is beautiful, in her own way,"she walked with measure steps...treading the earth proudly...she carried her head high...she was savage and superb, wild-eyed and magnificent; there was something ominous about and stately in her deliberate process" (pg. 142). The mistress is, however

...