Essay --

Bijoy ShahMrs. JonesSophomore English (H)8 January 2014Men Women passim The Odyssey by Homer, many women, if not servant girls or deities, are charge to the powerless role of mothers or seductresses. In most instances, the women are in need of support and guidance as they are weak and fragile. Without a steady male hand to guide them, these women appear to be mazed and heartbroken. Women serve little function aside from mourning their men and advise them to remain safe. In many ways, the value placed on fathers and sons in The Odyssey is far greater than the bonds with mothers or daughters. Anticleia, Odysseus mother, cannot even exist without her son as she dies after waiting for years for him to come home. For Anticleia and other women, the entire endeavor for existence is to look after, nurture, and protect their sons and husbands. However, no female character in The Odyssey is quite as complex as the grief-stricken Penelope. Some women are known for the deeds of their sons or husbands, but never for a dire deed of their own, their personalities, and what they do them...