E-SLB1009
.docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
University of Kentucky *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
MISC
Subject
Arts Humanities
Date
Nov 24, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
6
Uploaded by GeneralMule3089
Surname 1
Your name
Instructors name
Course code
Due Date
Depiction of women
Introduction
This origin causes feminism to suffer a setback as an ideology and a movement since it forces feminism to begin the fight against patriarchy all over again. Compared to males, women in ancient Greece had little, if any, legal protections. The re-telecasting of the Ramayana with these events raises important and challenging questions about the structure of Indian society in a post-enlightenment world awash in the notions of gender equality, reason, and justice. Women are often represented in Greek literature as being either utterly subservient and devoted to their husbands, as in the case of Medea, or as being driven by passion and irrational impulses, as in the case of Penelope in Homer's Odyssey. The Ramayana is a well-known epic tale that Valmiki delivered in Sanskrit. Greek tragedies were employed didactically in literature to impart important moral lessons to the audience. This essay will analyze how women are seen and handled in Homer's The Odyssey and The Ramayana, as well as how Medea in Euripides' Medea
supports or contradicts such perceptions and treatments.
Feminism, as a social ideology, is coming into its own in modern culture. Finding female literary protagonists who actively challenge gender conventions by stepping outside narrowly
Surname 2
defined positions may be difficult. Within the epic's strong patriarchal nature, women are portrayed as property.
Understanding what is and is not appropriate in human, divine, female, and male interactions is made possible by reading The Odyssey. The contributions of women were crucial to the evolution of this epic poem (Wilson, 20). However, the fact that women do not have the same authority as males cannot be denied. All the women in the Odyssey have distinct traits, behaviors, and levels of subservience. The article, however, does not make this clear. All the Odyssey women are unique, yet they share qualities that define the archetype of a modern-day strong, independent woman. We see two depictions of women in classical Greek culture in The Odyssey. Penelope represents the ideal wife in ancient Greek culture; she embodies the utmost in
fidelity and perfection (Wilson, 53). Penelope is a symbol of devotion to her husband, but she is also a model of wisdom, obedience, and deception (such as her husband).
Odysseus, the protagonist of the Odyssey, encounters, and flirts with a wide variety of beautiful ladies. Homer's attitude toward the Odyssey's many female characters is presented, and they all have distinct traits and characteristics (Wilson, 60). The Odyssey has many strong female characters, including the youthful and naive Nausicaa, Arete, Circe, Calypso, Helen, and Athena. These women figures show how crucial they may be in the grand scheme. There are several strong female characters in the Odyssey, but Penelope emerges as the most important. Penelope, Odysseus's wife, is a prototypical, faithful wife because of her devotion to her husband. During the time that Odysseus was held captive by Calypso, Penelope had to cope with other suitors who wished to marry her. She was hesitant to wed any of them since a queen was considered powerless without a monarch. She devised a strategy to buy herself more time, hoping her husband would eventually return. She weaved the enormous fabric, and then at night,
Surname 3
by torchlight, Penelope untangled the threads in preparation for Laertes' burial ((Wilson, 337). Penelope's good intentions ultimately failed. Penelope's intelligence and wit are on display throughout the whole tale. She was faithful to Odysseus during his absence.
Women in The Ramayana are portrayed as passive objects easily manipulated by male characters (Pal, 13). Despite the text's attempts to empower women, these characters ultimately revert to the stereotypical roles that have long been associated with female characters in literature, thus enforcing a gender hierarchy that reinforces male superiority and female subordination. The women of The Ramayana fight against systematic patriarchal oppression and seek a method to acquire dynamic power components that allow them to embody autonomous authority. Though women have a prominent role in The Ramayana, they are just used as pawns to satisfy the needs of the males in the story (Pal, 15). In the Ramayana, female characters yearn for what they do not have, rebel against patriarchy and male rule, imprison masculine ego, and destroy culture and tradition, hoping that male-dominated societies would change their perspectives.
Medea is often mentioned in current discussions of ancient Greek women, notably in plays. The key reasons for her fame are her bravery and wit. These qualities are crystallized throughout "Euripides' Medea" in how she overcomes standard difficulties in ancient Greek social situations (Rayor, 50). As seen throughout the plays, ancient Greek culture was overwhelmingly patriarchal and hostile to women. Women were subject to strict control by their fathers before reaching adulthood, and this trend continued even after marriage. They had to be completely subservient to their husbands as part of their role as wives. Women were also considered too sensitive, sexually immature, and illogical. Due to these factors, they were seen as
socially less significant than men. Male protagonists are often highlighted in media at the cost of
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help