I believe that by observing the Homeric characters in The Odyssey, Homer displays an obvious tendency towards sexism. Among the mortal female characters in the poem, they all seem to follow a stereotypical female pattern. For instance, Helen is remembered in The Odyssey by her flighty and unwise behavior from The Iliad. When Telemachus dines with Menelaus and Helen, she reminds us yet again the bad decisions she made to run away with Paris. However, no mention is given to the fact that it was Paris who urged her to leave. This shows us how a focus is put on the role that Helen had in the war, and does not fairly balance out the blame that should be spread between the sexes. The main female mortal in The Odyssey is Penelope, the faithful and adoring wife of Odysseus. Sexism in Homer's writing is revealed when Penelope grieves for, and remains true to her husband while she is surrounded by a crowd of adoring men. Not to mention that there was a serious possibility that her husband, gone for twenty years, is dead. At the same time that Penelope is remaining faithful, Odysseus can't even resist his hostage keeper. While he is stranded on Calypo's island, it is made quite clear that Odysseus did not honor his wife, but slept frequently with the nymph Calypso. This double standard that arises many times throughout Odysseus' journey home is evidence of the favor that Homer gives to his male characters.
Although the goddess Athena is very highly honored and portrayed with numerous strong and respectable qualities, her divinity removes her from the possibility of comparison to any mortal woman. By doing this, Homer creates a character that is an unrealistic fantasy of what women should be. When Athena reveals to the crowd around Telemachus and King Nestor that she is a god by turning into an eagle, she is awed after and revered all the more by those people. Although she portrays a strong woman, we are reminded that she does not necessarily represent women as a whole, but the gods instead. Another immortal, the nymph Calypso, is portrayed as an obsessive and irrational person. When she becomes infuriated with Hermes for forcing her to give up Odysseus, she seems just another love-obsessed woman. Not only does Homer portray her as a stereotypical woman in love, but Homer also reveals the sexism between the gods regarding human relationships. Calypso rants about how all the gods are allowed to steal any mortal maiden that they wish, while she is forced to give up her one love Odysseus. The double standard in this context is an obvious display of sexism in Homer's writing.
Work Cited:
Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. London: Penguin Books,1997.
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