The Nature of Women Portrayed by Circe and
Calypso in The Odyssey
by Lillian Bonar
Essay: The Nature of Women Portrayed by Circe and Calypso in The Odyssey
Pages: 11
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The Nature of Women Portrayed by Circe and Calypso in The Odyssey
In Homer's composition, The Odyssey, the roles women play are very significant. The best examples of the true
nature of women occur when Odysseus encounters Circe and Calypso. These two characters illustrate the thoughts
and feelings of how women how a woman feels and how they think. As the quote states, Circe and Calypso
illustrate how women really can be crafty, intelligent, sneaky, disloyal, and cruel. In contrast to battles with men,
Cyclops, or animals, sexual battles with women are sometimes much more difficult to win.
These two female characters are especially enticing to Odysseus because they are goddesses. Though it is evident
that Odysseus longs to return to Penelope in Ithaca, it sometimes appears that he has lost vision of what life was
like with a wife, a son, and with thousands of people who regard him as King. Although his experiences on the
islands of these goddesses were similar in that he was retained from Ithaca for the longest periods of his
adventure, these goddesses and the ways that Odysseus reacts to his experiences with them represent two very
different aspects of Odysseus' life and disposition in life. When Odysseus and his men arrive on Circe's island, they
are still in fairly good shape. In Book X, lines 194-196, Odysseus says: "I climbed to a rocky place of observation
and looked at the island, and the endless sea lies all in a circle around it." I believe this illuminates a very important
aspect in Circe's tendencies. She doesn't seem to want to cause any real harm to the men, but wishes to encircle
these men with her food, wine, and lust. She seems to be obsessed with lust and material possessions, and it is my
belief th...
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