Misogyny In The Odyssey Essay

Misogynistic views do not have one specific root and seem to have been prevalent for all traceable history. These harmful views lead to women being oppressed, which could range anywhere from sex slavery to slurs shouted in one’s face. Homer, writer of epic poem The Odyssey, is no different than many men today, when discussing oppressive views towards women. Such views range from an overall motif of misogyny, stemming from Homer’s own background views, which cause Odysseus to act hypocritically to the most important woman in his life.
While the patriarchal societal views in The Odyssey are not discussed straightforwardly, they are not difficult to find. In Book X, these views are plainly presented when protagonist Odysseus calls Circe a “beautiful …show more content…
One could argue that Odysseus is a product of Homer’s inner desires—he is hailed as hero, has the most wits, and all the ladies love him. Too many ritualistic, intimate acts were written to be able to be considered complete fiction, like when the female servants bathe Odysseus. It seems like this epic poem could have been written for personal benefit of Homer. While most everyone wants to be the savior and be remembered with kleos, or eternal glory, Homer’s rendition of Odysseus seems excessive and too-good-to-be-true. Themes that could point to Homer’s inner desires and weaknesses are fame, women, faithfulness, success, and home. He wants to help people and be a savior in real life, so he writes of a heroic man on a journey to save the world, basically. Inferior feelings and patronizing views to women could be traced back to an ex-lover or even “mommy issues.” Perhaps Homer’s mother was not eternally faithful to his father, so he writes about Odysseus’s wife, Penelope, staying home faithfully and raising his son, while Odysseus travels the world. His repressed negative feelings towards women surface in The Odyssey when Agamemnon tells of “that bitch, my wife, [that] turned her back on me.” It seems that in this epic, even when discussing goddesses, women are never enough and constantly are doing something wrong. It is absolutely …show more content…
Even though Penelope is left alone with her child for ten years, she is expected to care for him and remain faithful to her marriage. She has no idea if her husband is alive or not, and many people tell her that he is dead. Penelope fends off potential suitors for years and waits for her husband to return home. To contrast, Odysseus immediately cheats on his wife when around Circe, his goddess-mistress, and stays with her for a year. He has the gall to test Penelope’s truth and faithfulness when he returns home to Ithaca. If his wife had pulled that, she probably would not be alive. Odysseus’s actions are hypocritical because Penelope herself represents the idea of “home.” Throughout his grand journey, the only goal is to return home, which is presented as the whole city and house and wife and son. Penelope is really the only important guiding factor to Odysseus—even while cheating with Circe he speaks of his love for his wife. The journey traveled in The Odyssey is both physical and mental, somehow strengthening the relationship between Odysseus and Penelope. Discussing their olive tree bed is how the couple reunite, and this literal olive branch could be seen as a metaphorical peace offering from Odysseus about getting in bed with other women. An olive branch could also be their son, Telemachus, who brings Odysseus back to Penelope and helps them reunite. What a strange