Customer center

We are a boutique essay service, not a mass production custom writing factory. Let us create a perfect paper for you today!

Example research essay topic: Wife Penelope Double Standard - 976 words

NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote

Women in The Odyssey In The Odyssey the main character, Odysseus, meets and entertains an impressive array of women. All of the women that he meets are very different and have different personalities and Homer clearly states his attitude towards each of the women. Some of the women are seen as essentially good or essentially bad. It is also clear that Homer adopts a sexist attitude towards the women in his novel.

In The Odyssey women are generally portrayed as manipulative and deceitful and Homer is a sexist who holds a double standard of morality for men and for women. There is one thing that all the women, be they human or god, in The Odyssey have in common: they are all very clever. There are two ways that the reader can interpret this characteristic that women share: either Homer feels that women are very intelligent or he feels that women are underhanded and sneaky. The opinion of Homer is probably the latter because the most of the women that Odysseus, the hero of the novel, encounters use their intelligence against him.

Kalypso and Kerke both try to seduce Odysseus into staying on their islands, while Penelope uses her cleverness to trick the suitors into believing that it took her three years to weave a shroud. There are two goddesses that Homer wants the reader to perceive as bad women: the goddesses Kalypso and Kerke. Kalypso is a goddess who kept Odysseus on her island for seven years so she could have him. She is portrayed at this very greedy and lustful nymph who seduces Odysseus into forgetting about his home and forces him to have sex with her every night. She is also bad because she, through her great guile, makes Odysseus forget about his home and his beloved wife, Penelope. She even offers him immortality if he stays with her forever.

She only lets him go when she is force to by Zeus. This type of behavior suggests that Kalypso does not love Odysseus because she would not let him live even though he wanted to. Kerke is another prime example of the deceitful woman. When Odysseus men wash up on the shore. She lures them into her home by signing in an enchanting voice and gave them thrones to sit on and honey to eat. But as soon as they turn their backs Kerke adding her own vile pinch (Page X, 260), turns them all into pigs.

The one man that stayed behind, Eurylokhos, says I saw cruel deceit (X, 285) when he finds out that this evil she-witch has turned perfectly good men into pigs. But Odysseus is much to clever to be tricked by this goddess and he eats a plant that allows him to resist the poison of Kerke. Once Kerke realizes that Odysseus has found her out she cowers under the sword of such a strong man but does not just turn Odysseus men back into men. Instead she offers sex to Odysseus which is, of course, the typical seductive tactic of the woman. After Odysseus sleep with her he then forces her to turn his men back into men and after a year he leaves. Homer holds a double standard for the morality of men and women.

In the beginning of the book there is a story about a king named Agamemnon. While Agamemnon was away Aigisthos stole Agamemnon's wife and killed then killed him. But when Agamemnon's son, Orestes, came of age he killed Aigisthos and his mother. Zeus says Now he [Aigisthos] has paid the reckoning in full. (I, 62) What Zeus means by that is Aigisthos got was he deserved and so did Agamemnon's immoral wife.

But if Homer feels that adultery is wrong, why does he not condemn the adultery of Odysseus? Never does Homer mention that Odysseus should not be sleeping with all these women because his wife Penelope is at home and loves him very much? And not only does Homer not condemn the actions of Odysseus he accuses Kalypso and Kerke of seducing Odysseus into their respective beds of lust. When Odysseus uses his love it is seen a tactic to find a way to get home to his beloved wife and his beloved countrymen. But when women use their love it is used for nothing but the furthering of their own ends.

The Odyssey is not without good women- or women that Homer feels are good women. The perfect example of such a woman is Penelope, Odysseus wife. She uses her feminine cleverness and cunning towards helping her husband. She convinces the suitors that she working on a shroud for her husband so that she can we be with her beloved Odysseus (who by the way is off sleeping with other women).

It seems that the ideal woman is one who sits faithfully at home, while her husband goes off to fight wars and have adventures. It is not fair for Homer is have these double standard for male and female heroes / heroines - the man can leave his wife at home and go off and sleep with women other than his wife. But the woman should stay at home, she should be noble and not remarry even if her husband does not return for twenty years and it is simply out of the question for her to have an affair even if her husband is having numerous ones. In The Odyssey women are generally portrayed as manipulative and deceitful and Homer is a sexist who holds a double standard of morality for men and for women. Even though there are women who are considers good they are seen as good because they are subservient to their husbands. Homer also holds a double standard when it comes to what defines a moral man and what defines a moral woman.


Free research essays on topics related to: odyssey, odysseus, homer, double standard, wife penelope

Research essay sample on Wife Penelope Double Standard

Writing service prices per page

  • $18.85 - in 14 days
  • $19.95 - in 3 days
  • $23.95 - within 48 hours
  • $26.95 - within 24 hours
  • $29.95 - within 12 hours
  • $34.95 - within 6 hours
  • $39.95 - within 3 hours
  • Calculate total price

Our guarantee

  • 100% money back guarantee
  • plagiarism-free authentic works
  • completely confidential service
  • timely revisions until completely satisfied
  • 24/7 customer support
  • payments protected by PayPal

Secure payment

With EssayChief you get

  • Strict plagiarism detection regulations
  • 300+ words per page
  • Times New Roman font 12 pts, double-spaced
  • FREE abstract, outline, bibliography
  • Money back guarantee for missed deadline
  • Round-the-clock customer support
  • Complete anonymity of all our clients
  • Custom essays
  • Writing service

EssayChief can handle your

  • essays, term papers
  • book and movie reports
  • Power Point presentations
  • annotated bibliographies
  • theses, dissertations
  • exam preparations
  • editing and proofreading of your texts
  • academic ghostwriting of any kind

Free essay samples

Browse essays by topic:

Stay with EssayChief! We offer 10% discount to all our return customers. Once you place your order you will receive an email with the password. You can use this password for unlimited period and you can share it with your friends!

Academic ghostwriting

About us

© 2002-2024 EssayChief.com