Roles of Women in Homer's Odyssey Was Homer in line with this tradition in the Odyssey? This depends of course on what the tradition is claimed to align with Homer. Let's take a look at some of the raw materials of the Odyssey. Aside from language and specific episodes, is the nature of the woman depicted in the Odyssey in any way revealing? And what do we look for in human nature when we dig for gender bias? And how do we separate systemic biases from innocent ignorance? Yesterday morning I heard an author describe the difficulties male writers face when writing about childbirth: no matter how hard they try, they usually get something wrong. So, what are we looking for? Sexuality? Emotional quality? Intellect? Driving for power? Do you need to check? Work capacity? If we detect differences in the text, how can we distinguish between three possible conclusions? First, the differences in treatment reflect the underlying Homeric thesis that women are "different but equal in nature." Secondly, the different treatment of men and women in the text reflects the thesis that women are "different and unequal in nature" - arguments about misogyny. fall here, but many other interpretative possibilities are also possible. Three: the different treatment reflects simple ignorance. How much do we attribute what we discover to male or female paternity? At first we might turn to the gods for a clue. The adultery between Ares and Aphrodite, for example, is portrayed equally: both parties are guilty, both are shameful, both are banished. Although there is some "locker room discussion" between two of the male gods who willingly lie in chains several layers thick to be next to Aphrodite. Sexuality among mortals is another key to this poem and this question. Women and men are represented differently in this regard - The shepherd Eumaius - Odysseus' brother by "adoption" tells how he came to Ithaca as a prisoner of a slave Phoinikia - a woman who had been seduced by a wandering sailor who, " ... they made such love to her that women in their fragility are confused, even the best among them." Does the god Artemis subsequently kill Phoinikia for her "betrayal?" I think this example says a lot about male and female sexuality. Male seducers are depicted as boys sowing oats - part of normal life. Seduced women are seen as weak and traitors - a betrayal that the woman in her "fragility" is unable to avoid. This is a very bizarre message. The overt and effortless emotional character of men and women is perhaps one reason why many find this poem so enduringly human. Whatever our weaknesses and failures as human beings, both men and women are deeply moved by the thought of home; memories of old loves; lost friends; lost youth; and death. Men cry - Ulysses prodigiously throughout the poem - the poem is full of tears - and also laughter. The emotional nuances here are free and easy: it's an attractive world and I think it's healthy in that sense. there are contemporary conceptions of human nature that see the capacity for easy emotional release as a key to thinking well, thinking rationally. Our intellectual capacities can be blocked, occluded by unfinished emotional work. A good cry, a good laugh, a good cry, it's just what the doctor ordered. Retentive individuals, cultures and genders tend to act differently, irrationally in some areas. RETURN TO TOPICS An alternative approach is to address the "charge of unequal nature" - misogynists in particular argue head on. Far awayfrom evil - the women of the Odyssey - Penelope in particular - present and offer what is most precious in human life - a harmonious environment for living well - the good life - family community - and all things. this entails. That ideal, the one that Odysseus strives to re-establish through his 20-year Odyssey, elevates Penelope to hero status in this poem. Her world and all it represents represents a commentary, a resolution, and an alternative to the effect of the war and violence brought by males into their world. This approach is crucial to any topic that represents women as different but equal. If this type of analysis were so easy. Penelope's character is quite complex. There is unease in much of the poem about how Penelope's relationships will resolve. Two more mortal women loom over these uncertainties: Helen and Clytemnestra! The seeds of doubt about Penelope are sown by none other than Agamemnon who tells Odysseus in Hades that Clytemnestra will give "a bad name to all women, even those who do good" (p. 201-202). The possibility that Penelope could still turn out to be unfaithful creates suspense throughout the narrative. Odysseus obviously returns to Ithaca in disguise, partly on Agamemnon. it is urgent. Odysseus needed to know that Penelope was faithful. There was a parallel earlier in the story in Hephaestus's entrapment of Aphrodite with Ares. Penelope isn't always portrayed as having the best judgment. Her son Telemaklos notes: "... my mother is like that, perverse for all her intelligence: she would entertain some rabble and turn out to be a solid man." (p. 379) And the suitors as shadows tell how Penelope tricked and deceived them over a period of three years (p. 449). What is Homer up to? Why offer these seemingly contradictory colorations to the otherwise idealized Penelope? It's to build intrigue. Or does it reflect a fundamental anxiety and distrust of women, even the best women? If we look to another "better than women" counterpart to Penelope - Helen - to see how Homer describes her character in this regard, our anxiety only increases. We consider her formidable: a woman gifted with priestly powers: the possessor of secret mind-altering recipes and an ability to interpret omens. Penelope may represent a commentary on the effects of war and violence brought by males into their world, but where do we place Helen, catalyst of one of the most serious battles of antiquity? We must respect such charisma, charm and power. It is also feared. Kirce and Helen actually have a lot in common. All of these "best women" in the poem, Penelope, Helena, Arete, and Nausicaa, represent ideals for marriage. Odysseus hears Arete described on p.112 by Athena: "no grace or wisdom fails in her; for only men in quarrel come to her out of fairness. Suppose, then, that she looks upon you with kindness, it is probable that you will see your friends under your roof, in your father's country." Yes! If Arete will look kind, if not, will he be like the red queen, cut off his head? What I suggest may be part of our anxiety. In fact, if you look carefully at those women in history who are capable of not looking favorably on you: Calypso, Circe, Scylla and Charybdis and the Sirens. Here we get that predominantly Western and strikingly modern message of the woman as femme fatale: that deadly mixture of lust and love, pleasure and danger, pleasure and pain, pleasure and death, pleasure and bondage. Women consume, women humiliate, women destroy. Kirke's trance seduces and bewitches. The Sirens attract. Skylla devours. Or, if we listen to the shadow of Agamemnon, Odysseus's equal ground, we are exposed to some gods!