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Immoral Women In The Odyssey

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We are introduced to many women throughout the course of The Odyssey, both immortal and mortal, moral and immoral. From the goddess Athena to the maid Eurynome, these strong-willed women are given the power to directly influence Odysseus’ long trek home—without them, there would be no story. Two of these women vie for our hero’s heart, the immortal nymph Calypso, and the pseudo-widow Penelope, Odysseus’ grief-stricken wife. After washing up on the shores of Ogygia, Odysseus is held captive (in the weakest of senses) by the nymph Calypso. A lower goddess, Calypso is immortal and divine but has little influence over the world around her. Confined to her island, she seduces the luckless Odysseus with hospitality and charm, keeping him as her guest for nearly eight years. Having no ship, no crew, and little will to live, Odysseus has no choice but to stay with the nymph, who wants nothing more than to make him her immortal and ageless …show more content…
While Calypso is immortal and divine, she is also brash and self-absorbed, ignoring Odysseus’ pleas to return home for years in the hopes that her seduction would eventually wear away his resolve. On the other hand, Penelope is modest and thoughtful, going out of her way to help a “beggar” even though she is being harassed constantly and mourning the loss of her husband. She may only be a mortal, but she embodies the strength of mind and of character that was desired from Greek women. From a cultural standpoint, she was the ideal: smart, beautiful, strong, loyal, and obedient. Calypso may be enticing in her beauty and wit, but her loyalty and obedience must be commanded by higher beings. It is her lack of these traits that makes her the immortal lesser to Penelope, indicating that the ancient Greek women were expected to be equal to the males in theory, but in practice held a subservient

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