Women In The Aeneid

Thus Ward is able to address the double edge sword that presents females in stories as “weak” or built upon the “wrath of a woman.” The inclusion of the universality that is associated with Greek mythology allows Ward to shed off the label of blackness from her work. With China, Esch and Katrina all carrying some traits of Medea, it allows the reader to see all aspects of being female from being vulnerable, brave, nurturing and protective. Moreover, Ward insinuates that women should be presented as empowering to one another and through Medea paralleling story Ward articulates her

In the epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, there are many female characters who play the role of a villain. Calypso, Scylla, Charybdis, and the sirens are among the women with the largest, negative impacts on Odysseus’ journey home. Though some women, such as Athena, Eurycleia, and Penelope, are loyal to Odysseus throughout the poem. With such a wide range of female characters, they all contribute different things throughout the book, whether the impact of their actions is negative or positive. Regardless of the outcomes, Homer has quite a modern view of female representation in his poem.

The barrier between her and the neighbours after her husband’s death forced her to become reserved and quiet. Her and her son only went into town if they had to. They preferred to stay close to the garden where they felt safe. The death of the husband is the cause of the mothers’ complete change in character. The death let the audience connect with her on a deeper level to understand her pain and suffering.

In many societies today, individuals are led to believe that the concept of women possessing their own strength or independence is abnormal. As a result, women experience the world in a constrained way in comparison to men, even if they are in higher classes of society. However, these extensive aspects of females are contradicted in some ancient Greek literature. In the epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer portrays women as a vital and powerful force through the characters Penelope and Circe, who counter the normality of misogyny in Homer’s time. Penelope’s character displays how some women are able to exceed society’s standards and show strength and cleverness when it is necessary.

Medea and the women of Corinth both share, to a different extent, the experience of being unfairly categorized as the caretaker of the family, which aids Medea in persuasion because she can be trusted as a woman to speak on the patriarchal society. She continues as ‘’of all creatures that have life and reason we women are the sorriest lot’’ (229-230) of all the living things Medea describes women as the ‘’sorriest’’ which suggests that women are pitied and helps Medea to allure the Chorus to be on her side. Medea suggests to the Chorus that Females ‘’must at a great expenditure of money buy a husband and even take on a master over our body: this evil is more galling than the first. ’’(231-233) Medea is arguing that women must sacrifice a ‘’great’’ amount of money to ‘’buy’’ their partners. This conveys the patriarchal community in Corinth.

Medea’s appeal to the woman of Corinth is poignant, powerful and above all, convincing. She uses her genders natural role as child-bearers to tear down the belief that women are the weaker sex. Medea states, ‘They say that we live a life in the house without danger, while they fight with spears. They think wrongly. For I would rather stand in the line of battle three times than give birth once.’

In spite of the fact that Homer’s Odyssey is an epic story of a man’s gallant journey, women play a huge part throughout. Their unique yet controversial personalities, intentions, and relationships are vital to the development of this epic and adventurous journey of Odysseus. The poem by Homer was written at a time when women had an inferior position in society, yet that didn’t stop them from being any less influential. All of the women throughout the Odyssey possess different qualities, but all of them help to define the role of the ideal woman.

In ancient times, there is a general sense that women were simply items and slaves to their husbands. Ancient Greece specifically has a renowned reputation of favoring men. Men possessed the dominant role in public affairs and events while most women were pressured to stay at home. Very few records extensively discuss women; the records focus mostly on men. Despite the lacking records, it is certain how ancient Greeks viewed their women and their relationships with their male counterparts.

Conclusion "Medea" criticizes the male dominated society. It criticizes what a small role women play in society even if they have great abilities, what little power women have, and how unfair it is that men can do what they want while women cannot. I find this interesting because it seems so modern, women all over the world still struggle with the problems that the women in Medea did. Euripides, and C.A.E Luschnig. "

She describes the world to be unjust, especially to women. Medea believes that women are looked as inferior to men, and even so, men are quick to display their unlikely maltreatment. To her, women have little to no say in their marriage, their bodies, and general society. Medea’s outlook of women is first conveyed through this quote, bringing upon the theme of the state of women within Greece. This quote reveals the state of women within Greece, a leading theme of the story.

In the time of the Greeks and the Trojans, women were either a man’s prize or true love. They can also affect their man’s involvement in battle. A woman who is a prize is taken from a conquered city and given to the military officers as a reward for fighting in battle. A woman of true love, on the other hand, is a woman that has given up everything to be with a man that cares so deeply for her. A woman of true love is important to the man, even if honor and bravery in battle is a priority of his, as it was to all great warriors, his woman is almost as important.

Throughout history, women have been second fiddle to men. Females have been degraded, disrespected, and undermined; they’ve been ignored, silenced, and gone unheard. This gender inequality is present even in The Odyssey, though it includes many important female figures. Penelope, Calypso, Circe, and more are all crucial to the plot, and some even responsible for the happy ending, yet when inspected closely female stereotypes emerge. The majority of the women are presented as seductresses, the others as mothers, and almost all as fragile and dependent on men.

Women in The Decameron are portrayed as being more long-suffering and more independent than men. Although it does not apply to all the female characters, Boccaccio demonstrates that women can endure difficulty easier than men do. Basically women do not have the enough power to overcome the whole problem that they tolerate hardship. The Bible, however, asserts on the equality of gender on the matter of patience.

Due to their continuously increasing population, the Incas had an endless demand for cloth. Every year a government official would inspect the ten-year-old girls in the town, and take with them only the best-looking so they could devote themselves to the state. The most beautiful of the girls were chosen for sacrifice to the gods, while others weren’t as lucky and labored for the state, learning trades like cooking and brewing. Mostly these women learned how to spin for cloth. After four years of effective indentured servitude these girls would be reassigned as concubines of the ruler or, if the ruler saw fit, as the wives of men the ruler wanted to honor.

When a woman tries to speak out, assume leadership or have her own idea, she is dismissed as having "a man 's heart in a woman 's body..." (pg. 5). Or even when greeting her husband, she is laid-off: "Your eulogies are like my absence, too long, too much..." The Greeks are unable to get over these views – "…a woman who fears nothing – is she a woman…" (pg. 47) and cannot believe that a woman would be capable of being a good leader, or even give a speech. Being called a woman was an insult for a man as he was assigned these qualities: "Aegysthus you are a woman..."