Emotional Epic Women
The role of women is society is a topic that never grows old. From the creation account in the Garden of Eden to 21st Century America, the perception of women and the responsibilities they carry within their social or physical limitations have continually been discussed, disputed, and restructured. Considering how most cultures today recognize and respect women as capable members of society and are treated with equality amongst men, it is interesting to note how the women of ancient times were perceived in their respective patriarchal societies, as are depicted in the epics like The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, The Aeneid, and The Ramayana. Although these epics differ in time and setting, the overarching understanding of women remains constant: that a woman who is subservient, self-sacrificial, and faithful is seen as the prime example of an excellent woman, while a manipulative, aggressive, and controlling woman is seen as contemptuous. In either case, however, the biggest downfall that is seen among the female characters of these epics is the tendency to be driven by emotions. Therefore, although a woman may be perfect in every other way, in the end, her control over her emotions becomes the deciding factor of whether or not she is a good woman.
For women like Calypso, Circe, Juno, Manthara, and Kaikeyi, one does not have to read much about them to discover their obvious character flaws. The obsessive ways of conducting themselves and their outrageous actions which deliberately inflict trouble upon the hero of their respective epics are filled with negativity, and, without question, these characters can be labeled the antagonists of their stories.
Calypso and Circe, both from The Odyssey, are described as the total opposite of the Greek idea of a perfect woman. Clingy, jealous, and entirely consumed with desire for Odysseus, Calypso refuses to allow Odysseus to leave her and would rather have him be miserable and stay with her by force than to let him go. Having violated the social order by playing the dominant role in their relationship and pursuing Odysseus instead of allowing Odysseus to pursue her, Calypso becomes an object of grief and pain for Odysseus. Despite her beauty and sexual appeal which initially distract Odysseus’ better judgment, he eventually becomes altogether repulsed by her and begs her to release him. Calypso ends up becoming the longest and most painful obstacle that Odysseus faces on his prolonged journey home. Her lack of control over her emotions is the main driving force behind her illogical course of actions, and she is without doubt, the very depiction of what a woman should not be.
As for Circe who is an independent, powerful woman who is capable of causing lots of damage, her very position as a strong and crazed goddess makes her an unacceptable female role model according to Greek culture. Her weakness shows up not in her manipulative ways, but in her inability to control her emotions. Just like Calypso, she uses her power for her benefit, but unlike how it is with Calypso, Odysseus uses her affections for him to his advantage, and her defeat begins when she loses control over the situation the moment she loses her heart to Odysseus. By causing her to fall in love with him, Odysseus disarms Circe and is able to benefit from her instead of fall prey to her sorcery. Once again, it is the failure to maintain a level head in the midst of heated emotion that causes the woman to fall.
In The Aeneid, the main troublemaker is clearly Juno; the goddess who seeks to stop Aeneas from founding Rome. Driven by anger and fear for Carthage’s future and favoritism for the Greeks during the Trojan war, Juno sets out to do anything within her power to get in Aeneas’ way of fulfilling his destiny. Much like Calypso, her logic is clouded over by her desires, and she willingly misuses her powers, making her a despicable and unattractive character.
Two women from The Ramayana who fall into this category of poisonous women are Kaikeyi, and her hunchback servant, Manthara. Although Kaikeyi starts off as a seemingly virtuous and noble woman, the malicious manipulation from Manthara causes her to lose her reasoning altogether and she becomes so encapsulated by her emotions that she makes a selfish and abominable demand of her husband that would affect the entire kingdom. All her initial sensible thoughts regarding Rama and the wellbeing of the kingdom fall through when she begins to dwell on Manthara’s own emotion driven words; and the results of her actions turn out to be very grave indeed.
The next set of women who can be found in these epics are those who actually do possess the correct characteristics of a good woman, but then end up giving in to their emotions as well. Two women who would fall into this category are Dido and Sita. Although Dido is not exactly the exemplary woman that Sita is, both of these women suffer greatly for love of a man and end up taking their own lives to end their pain. Nevertheless, although these women can be said to be good women whose lives end sadly, they each have very unique stories of their own.
Dido starts off as a strong and positive character who later on loses her focus when she falls in love with Aeneas. Unlike the typical, domestic woman that is often promoted in these epics, Dido is a strong and independent woman who has overcome many difficulties and has achieved far greater things than many men have; and, although she does get distracted by her personal love affair and neglects her responsibilities before she ends her life in inconsolable despair due to Aeneas’ desertion, her she cannot be entirely faulted for her emotional downfall, for it is Cupid who causes her to fall in love with Aeneas. So although she does not handle her emotions well, she is also a victim of the gods’ schemes in which she falls for Aeneas against her will and not because of her own emotional weakness. Nevertheless, she is looked upon with disappointment as a woman who allowed her emotions to get the better of her.
On the flip side, Sita, who is held in extremely high esteem even till today, is entirely responsible for asking Mother Earth to swallow her up, but is not perceived as a failure at all. Her nature as a submissive wife and her self-sacrificial attributes have made her the ideal woman every girl should strive to become. Nevertheless, there is a slight complication when it comes to making her an example, for the Indians know that asking to die is probably not the best way to deal with one’s problems. According to Linda Hess in her article “Rejecting Sita: Indian Responses to the Ideal Man's Cruel Treatment of His Ideal Wife,” many Indians are themselves troubled by the turn of events at the end of the epic, which is evidenced in the deletion of Rama’s abandonment of Sita in later accounts of The Ramayana (3). It would seem that despite Sita’s emotional defeat in the end, her faults are either overlooked, or simply denied and not dealt with.
Finally, the two perfect women in the epics are Penelope from The Odyssey, and strangely enough, the nameless harlot from The Epic of Gilgamesh. Among the dozens of female characters in these four epics and the nine women who are discussed in this paper, only two women manage to remain strong and yet maintain their feminity. Penelope is, by Greek standards, the exact specimen of a flawless woman. Her loyalty and patience in waiting for Odysseus’ return while having to face a houseful of suitors has made placed her on a pedestal above other women. On the other hand, the unlikely character of the harlot who is sent to Enkidu has probably gone unnoticed on most occasions, but the strength and quality of her character is really one that cannot continue to be discounted.
To say that Penelope did not allow her emotions to control her does not mean that she never felt any emotion. As a matter of fact, her pain was very real – which is what makes her all the more honorable. In the article “From Penelope to Winnie Mandela – Women Who Waited,” the author, Betine Van Zyl Smit, states that Penelope “weeps lonely tears but nothing induces her to betray her husband and to neglect her duties, not even under pressure from the suitors does she contemplate infidelity (393-94). Her strength and virtue are not found in her inability to feel anything, but in her ability to cope with her responsibilities and fulfill what is expected of her despite her suffering.
As for the harlot in The Epic of Gilgamesh, although many people see her as nothing more than a temptress who uses her womanly attributes to seduce Enkidu in order to tame him, she is a much deeper character than just a sexual object. Considering the way she first approaches Enkidu, it is not surprising that some people would like to classify her as manipulative and scheming; but the important thing to be aware of in this account is that she is merely being a subservient servant following orders from Gilgamesh. As John A. Bailey points out in his article, “Initiation and the Primal Woman in Gilgamesh and Genesis 2-3,” that unlike any other harlot, she does not engage just in sexual activity with Enkidu, but upon taming him through an initial sexual experience, she becomes his teacher and begins to satisfy his intellectual needs as well (138-40). That being said, even though she engages in such intimacy with Enkidu, she does not allow herself to get emotionally attached to him, and, once her task is done, she goes back to her own life and drops out of the story. Bailey states, “So she is mate, mother, companion to Enkidu, but she is never his friend” (140). In contrast to most of the other women of the epics, her deep sense of duty for her country and her willingness to carry it out with such efficiency without getting herself emotionally entangled deserves a great amount of recognition. Although she may be nameless and seemingly insignificant, her role in educating Enkidu is probably one of the most prominent achievements made among the women of the epics, and the incredible strength and dignity she displays in carrying out such a lowly task out of obedience and loyalty to her king places her high above the other women, next to Penelope, or perhaps even higher.
Throughout history, women have been stumbling men. That fact cannot be denied. While women were made for man’s companionship, they are also man’s biggest weakness. Many of the epic heroes fall because of their association with women – whether good or bad women. The strength of a man is, then, to be able to withstand the guiles of a seductive woman – to remain strong and not fall for her charms. Similarly with women, emotion is their biggest weakness. Each of these epics may portray women differently, but the general statement that is made is that women are mostly unreliable because of their susceptibility to give in to emotions, and therefore, just as a man has to have control over his woman in order to be truly heroic, a woman, likewise, has to have control over her emotions in order to stay on task and fulfill her rightful role in society.
Works Cited
Bailey, John A. “Initiation and the Primal Woman in Gilgamesh and Genesis 2-3.” Journal of Biblical Literature 89.2 (1970): 137-150. JSTOR. Web. 24 Sep. 2012.
Hess, Linda. “Rejecting Sita: Indian Responses To The Ideal Man’s Cruel Treatment Of His Ideal Wife.” Journal Of The American Academy Of Religion 67.1 (1999): 1-32. Masterfile Premier. Web. 24 Sep. 2012.
Smit, Betine Van Zyl. “From Penelope to Winnie Mandela — Women Who Waited.” International Journal of the Classical Tradition 15.3 (2008): 393-406. JSTOR. Web. 24 Sep. 2012.