Essay On Patriarchy In The Odyssey
In a fantasized world like The Odyssey, women can threaten the power of the patriarchy, but in a modernized world like The Catcher in the Rye, women cannot threaten men because they do not hold tangible power. In The Odyssey, women like Helen, have the capability and desire to gain power; Helen exemplifies how women can manipulate men through the use sexulaity to do anything desire, even start a war. Her power over these men not only causes death and destruction, but it also causes endless nights of men missing their wives and just longing for a woman. Unlike The Odyssey, The Catcher in the Rye presents models of women who appear subordinate to men. The average woman in the 1940’s cleans the house, cares for the children, and cooks the dinner. Her life is in the home, leaving her unable to gain power from men. The two situations contrast,
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leaving the two societies to have different views and roles of women. Women in The Odyssey pose a threat to the patriarchy because they possess the potential to overpower men with their monstrous qualities and sexuality, and because they have this tangible power, they are able to help guide Odysseus on his hero's journey to reclaim his throne; in contrast, the women in The Catcher in the Rye are subordinate to men and possess no tangible power, and, thus, though they offer advice and guidance to Holden, they can't truly help him on his journey to manhood.
Women in the Odyssey pose a threat to the patriarchy because they possess the capability to gain power from men through their monstrous qualities and sexual nature. Scylla and Charybdis don’t present themselves as sexual, manipulative creatures, but rather they show a more monstrous side to women, threatening the overall survival of men. Away in her cavern, “Scylla lurks inside it- the yelping horror,/ yelping, no louder than any suckling pup/ but she’s a grisly monster/ […] She has twelve legs/ and six long swaying necks/ […] and armed to the hilt with black death!”(12.94-111). With the use of the words “yelping horror” and “grisly monster,” the appalling appearance and imminent death that await any man who passes is very clear. As a monster, her ability to kill men and emasculate their power shifts the ownership of power away from the men and gives it to the women - even if these women are nonconventional. Similar to Scylla, Charybdis’ appearance as a women in The Odyssey is also nonconventional: “awesome Charybdis gulps dark water down. Three times a day she vomits it up, three times a day she gulps it down,/ that terror! Don't be there when the whirlpool swallows down--/ not even the earthquake god could save you from disaster”(12.116-119). Describing her as “disaster” proves the capability to create such an immense amount of destruction to men and their ships that “not even the earthquake god could save” them (quote). Monstrous women during this time had the capability to steal power away from men by death and destruction.
Unlike Scylla and Charybdis, the Sirens, beautiful and manipulative creatures, threaten the sanity of men and blur their ability to make decisions. When men approach their island, the Sirens use their “honey voices” to lure them in and stick them to their island forever (12.204). Their sexuality - seen as irresistible - is their biggest weapon of all, and even though they may not appear as monstrous, what they can achieve is deadly. The overall image of the Sirens themselves seems innocent and seductive, while the appearance of the shore that surrounds them is home to “heaps corpses/ rotting away, rags of skin shriveling on their bones…”(12.51-52). With use of the words “rotting” and “corpses,” these seemingly beautiful creatures are made into monsters, capable of not so “beautiful” things. Not only do the Sirens use their voices to lure in and kill sailors, but they also use them as methods to strip power away from men. As the Sirens sing their song, their voices manipulate men and blur their capability to make choices. Men are made to believe that they’ll be a “wiser man” once they’ve sailed by, but in reality they’ll never even live to face their “wife rising to meet him,/ [or their] happy children beaming at their father’s face”(12.48-49, 203). Unlike any other woman in the Odyssey, the Sirens use both their sexuality and deadly nature to take away power from the men that dominate their world.
Similar to the Sirens, Circe and Penelope use their sexuality and feminine guile to gain power, but they also use their knowledge to influence Odysseus on the path his hero’s journey. When Odysseus first encounters Circe, her reactions appear purely manipulative, but as Odysseus remains immune to her potions and her reactions take a turn: “Never has any other man withstood my potion/ […]You have a mind in you no magic can enchant!/ You must be Odysseus/ [...] Come, sheath your sword, let’s to bed together,/ mount my bed and mix in the magic work of love” (10.363-375). Explain some more Circe takes her mistake and turns it into a different approach towards power. She no longer has her potions and wands, but uses her own sexuality and feminine guile to weave her way through Odysseus’ hubris THIS IS GOOD #boomin. Although she manipulates Odysseus, she also helps to fulfill his hero’s journey home. Even though she appears as just an obstacle, a trial, or a tribulation, she can also be seen as a guiding character. Her island is the home and needed shelter for Odysseus and his men. She also offers him help to continue his voyage home with her bag of winds. Although her manipulation helps her to take away power from Odysseus’ it also helps to aid Odysseus in a journey that wouldn’t be possible without her. Like Circe, Penelope helps to aid the men throughout the epic, while also gaining power for herself through her own manipulation. Throughout the epic, Penelope is seen as “reserved” and “cautious” as she makes her way through the suitors that raid her palace (19.56,17.544). Her way of staying collected and calm benefits her overall disguise. [The suitors aren’t able to sense her feelings or take away her secrets if she does not reveal any to them, therefore she is maintaining her own power. two of the same sentences Even though Penelope manipulates the suitors, she doesn’t use her feminine guile to trick Odysseus. Since she is loyal to him all throughout his journey, she makes his return a lot easier. As soon as his identity is revealed, her beloved husband regains his role with his trusty wife by his side. Although she maintains the little power she has, she also gains power from the men in her life: “That radiant women/ [...] drawing her glistening veil across her cheeks,/ paused now where a column propped the sturdy roof/ […] the suitors’ knees went slack, their hearts dissolved in lust”(17.544; 19.56;18.236-242). Her appearance with the “glistening veil” leaves the suitors to fall weak to her presence, leaving them to be vulnerable and easy to overcome, while Penelope stands strong and “observant” (19.65). Overall, the presence of Penelope in the epic proves to be essential to the female characters and male characters because she not only helps to gain power for women, but she also helps the important men in her life maintain power they need in order to complete their journeys. Unlike the women in The Odyssey, the women in The Catcher in the Rye are subordinate to men and possess no tangible power; even though they attempt to offer advice and guidance to Holden, they can't truly help him on his journey to manhood. Jane may hold sexual power over Holden, for example, but she never gains any substantial power within society. Since Jane and Holden have no real interactions throughout the span of the narrative, it’s left open to whether or not Holden’s interactions Jane are real or if there just a fragment of his imagination [10/10 #boomin]. Holden recollects of his past “memories” of Jane: “She wouldn’t move any of her kings. What she’d do, when she’d get a king, she just wouldn’t move it. She’d just leave it in the back row. Then she’d never use them. She just liked the way they looked when they were all in the back row”(41). By Jane preserving her kings in the back row, she’s preserving her virginity and purity from the men in her life, which may appear as an attempt to preserve her power, but in reality she has no real power. Although Jane doesn’t have power, her reappearing presence in Holden’s inner monologue seemingly helps Holden in his journey towards manhood: “Then I’d crawl back to my room and call up Jane and have her come over and bandage up my guts. I pictured her holding my cigarette for me to smoke while I was bleeding and all” (Sallinger 136). With the use of Holden’s wildest imagination even possess the presence of Jane, there to hold his hand and “bandage up his guts.” However, Jane was never actually there to help Holden through his “obstacles,” she is just a continuation of his made up story. She possess no actual power and no actual influence over Holden and his journey because she was never really there, she was just in Holden’s mind. Unlike Jane, Sally represents the average girl of the 1940’s; Sally withholds her sexuality, but is eager to give it to men. Her constant flirtatious demeanor reveals her desire to be taken over by men. Unlike the women in The Odyssey, she has no ulterior motives. Her simple desire is for men to want her because women in the 1940’s didn’t expect power or even need power. Although Sally wishes for male attention, her reactions towards Holden’s ideas to run away are anything but seductive: “We’re both practically children. And did you ever stop to think what you’d do if you didn’t get a job when your money ran out? We’d starve to death. The whole thing’s so fantastic, it isn’t even--” (172). Sally’s reactions is practical and seems to be intended guidance towards Holden. By using “children” and “fantastic” to exemplify the immaturity of the idea, picking at the whole interior struggle of the novel: childhood versus manhood. Sally’s practically may appear influential for Holden considering he chooses not to run away, but the driving behind his decision isn’t Sally, but Phoebe. Sally’s advice in a mere distraction to Holden’s inner struggle.
Unlike other women in The Catcher in the Rye, Sunny uses her sexuality towards men, but she also is still under the power and control of men. Sunny represents the small minority of girls in the 1940’s. Even though she still lacks the power to control men, as a prostitute, her role as a woman in society hugely differs. While using her sexuality is part of her job, her desire to manipulate men is nonexistent. The whole description of her job is succumbing to the power men have over her, but she also doesn’t worship the present of men; “She never said thank you [...] when you offered her something. She just didn’t know any better”(123). With the simple act of consciously or unconsciously denying a “thank you” to Holden, she’s not conforming to the picture of the 1940’s woman. Unlike Sally who throws herself at men, Sunny uses her sexuality, but she also knows when she doesn’t have to, which is evident when she leaves Holden’s room without completing her job. However, Sunny’s independence is short lived because under the green dress and pretty face, is a girl, “young as hell,” controlled by Maurice (Sallinger 123). With Sunny’s presence in Holden’s journey, she may appear to be pushing him into his manhood, however the main theme of the novel is Holden’s fear of sex. With Sunny’s sexuality being thrown into Holden’s face, she’s pushing him away from adulthood, leaving him to crawl back into his childhood.
Although women in The Odyssey threaten the survival of the patriarchy with their monstrosity and sexuality, the women in the Catcher in the Rye don’t hold any power because they remain subordinate to men throughout the entirety of the novel; unlike the women of The odyssey who aid Odysseus on his hero’s journey, the women in the Catcher in the Rye are unable to give guidance to Holden on his journey towards manhood.
However, the dividing factor between the women in both the Odyssey and The Catcher in the Rye is the setting and the time of each storyline. The Odyssey women are the given the opportunity to have magical powers and monstrous bodies to aid them in their struggle for power, whereas the women in the Catcher in the Rye are simple everyday girls in 1940’s without any equality to men or respect from men. Women in the Catcher in the Rye can’t help aid the men because they aren’t given the chance. Nothing important was expected from the women in the 1940’s, except to care for the house and the children. The capability of women to gain power and simply want power all depends on what they’re given in order to make it
happen.
leaving the two societies to have different views and roles of women. Women in The Odyssey pose a threat to the patriarchy because they possess the potential to overpower men with their monstrous qualities and sexuality, and because they have this tangible power, they are able to help guide Odysseus on his hero's journey to reclaim his throne; in contrast, the women in The Catcher in the Rye are subordinate to men and possess no tangible power, and, thus, though they offer advice and guidance to Holden, they can't truly help him on his journey to manhood.
Women in the Odyssey pose a threat to the patriarchy because they possess the capability to gain power from men through their monstrous qualities and sexual nature. Scylla and Charybdis don’t present themselves as sexual, manipulative creatures, but rather they show a more monstrous side to women, threatening the overall survival of men. Away in her cavern, “Scylla lurks inside it- the yelping horror,/ yelping, no louder than any suckling pup/ but she’s a grisly monster/ […] She has twelve legs/ and six long swaying necks/ […] and armed to the hilt with black death!”(12.94-111). With the use of the words “yelping horror” and “grisly monster,” the appalling appearance and imminent death that await any man who passes is very clear. As a monster, her ability to kill men and emasculate their power shifts the ownership of power away from the men and gives it to the women - even if these women are nonconventional. Similar to Scylla, Charybdis’ appearance as a women in The Odyssey is also nonconventional: “awesome Charybdis gulps dark water down. Three times a day she vomits it up, three times a day she gulps it down,/ that terror! Don't be there when the whirlpool swallows down--/ not even the earthquake god could save you from disaster”(12.116-119). Describing her as “disaster” proves the capability to create such an immense amount of destruction to men and their ships that “not even the earthquake god could save” them (quote). Monstrous women during this time had the capability to steal power away from men by death and destruction.
Unlike Scylla and Charybdis, the Sirens, beautiful and manipulative creatures, threaten the sanity of men and blur their ability to make decisions. When men approach their island, the Sirens use their “honey voices” to lure them in and stick them to their island forever (12.204). Their sexuality - seen as irresistible - is their biggest weapon of all, and even though they may not appear as monstrous, what they can achieve is deadly. The overall image of the Sirens themselves seems innocent and seductive, while the appearance of the shore that surrounds them is home to “heaps corpses/ rotting away, rags of skin shriveling on their bones…”(12.51-52). With use of the words “rotting” and “corpses,” these seemingly beautiful creatures are made into monsters, capable of not so “beautiful” things. Not only do the Sirens use their voices to lure in and kill sailors, but they also use them as methods to strip power away from men. As the Sirens sing their song, their voices manipulate men and blur their capability to make choices. Men are made to believe that they’ll be a “wiser man” once they’ve sailed by, but in reality they’ll never even live to face their “wife rising to meet him,/ [or their] happy children beaming at their father’s face”(12.48-49, 203). Unlike any other woman in the Odyssey, the Sirens use both their sexuality and deadly nature to take away power from the men that dominate their world.
Similar to the Sirens, Circe and Penelope use their sexuality and feminine guile to gain power, but they also use their knowledge to influence Odysseus on the path his hero’s journey. When Odysseus first encounters Circe, her reactions appear purely manipulative, but as Odysseus remains immune to her potions and her reactions take a turn: “Never has any other man withstood my potion/ […]You have a mind in you no magic can enchant!/ You must be Odysseus/ [...] Come, sheath your sword, let’s to bed together,/ mount my bed and mix in the magic work of love” (10.363-375). Explain some more Circe takes her mistake and turns it into a different approach towards power. She no longer has her potions and wands, but uses her own sexuality and feminine guile to weave her way through Odysseus’ hubris THIS IS GOOD #boomin. Although she manipulates Odysseus, she also helps to fulfill his hero’s journey home. Even though she appears as just an obstacle, a trial, or a tribulation, she can also be seen as a guiding character. Her island is the home and needed shelter for Odysseus and his men. She also offers him help to continue his voyage home with her bag of winds. Although her manipulation helps her to take away power from Odysseus’ it also helps to aid Odysseus in a journey that wouldn’t be possible without her. Like Circe, Penelope helps to aid the men throughout the epic, while also gaining power for herself through her own manipulation. Throughout the epic, Penelope is seen as “reserved” and “cautious” as she makes her way through the suitors that raid her palace (19.56,17.544). Her way of staying collected and calm benefits her overall disguise. [The suitors aren’t able to sense her feelings or take away her secrets if she does not reveal any to them, therefore she is maintaining her own power. two of the same sentences Even though Penelope manipulates the suitors, she doesn’t use her feminine guile to trick Odysseus. Since she is loyal to him all throughout his journey, she makes his return a lot easier. As soon as his identity is revealed, her beloved husband regains his role with his trusty wife by his side. Although she maintains the little power she has, she also gains power from the men in her life: “That radiant women/ [...] drawing her glistening veil across her cheeks,/ paused now where a column propped the sturdy roof/ […] the suitors’ knees went slack, their hearts dissolved in lust”(17.544; 19.56;18.236-242). Her appearance with the “glistening veil” leaves the suitors to fall weak to her presence, leaving them to be vulnerable and easy to overcome, while Penelope stands strong and “observant” (19.65). Overall, the presence of Penelope in the epic proves to be essential to the female characters and male characters because she not only helps to gain power for women, but she also helps the important men in her life maintain power they need in order to complete their journeys. Unlike the women in The Odyssey, the women in The Catcher in the Rye are subordinate to men and possess no tangible power; even though they attempt to offer advice and guidance to Holden, they can't truly help him on his journey to manhood. Jane may hold sexual power over Holden, for example, but she never gains any substantial power within society. Since Jane and Holden have no real interactions throughout the span of the narrative, it’s left open to whether or not Holden’s interactions Jane are real or if there just a fragment of his imagination [10/10 #boomin]. Holden recollects of his past “memories” of Jane: “She wouldn’t move any of her kings. What she’d do, when she’d get a king, she just wouldn’t move it. She’d just leave it in the back row. Then she’d never use them. She just liked the way they looked when they were all in the back row”(41). By Jane preserving her kings in the back row, she’s preserving her virginity and purity from the men in her life, which may appear as an attempt to preserve her power, but in reality she has no real power. Although Jane doesn’t have power, her reappearing presence in Holden’s inner monologue seemingly helps Holden in his journey towards manhood: “Then I’d crawl back to my room and call up Jane and have her come over and bandage up my guts. I pictured her holding my cigarette for me to smoke while I was bleeding and all” (Sallinger 136). With the use of Holden’s wildest imagination even possess the presence of Jane, there to hold his hand and “bandage up his guts.” However, Jane was never actually there to help Holden through his “obstacles,” she is just a continuation of his made up story. She possess no actual power and no actual influence over Holden and his journey because she was never really there, she was just in Holden’s mind. Unlike Jane, Sally represents the average girl of the 1940’s; Sally withholds her sexuality, but is eager to give it to men. Her constant flirtatious demeanor reveals her desire to be taken over by men. Unlike the women in The Odyssey, she has no ulterior motives. Her simple desire is for men to want her because women in the 1940’s didn’t expect power or even need power. Although Sally wishes for male attention, her reactions towards Holden’s ideas to run away are anything but seductive: “We’re both practically children. And did you ever stop to think what you’d do if you didn’t get a job when your money ran out? We’d starve to death. The whole thing’s so fantastic, it isn’t even--” (172). Sally’s reactions is practical and seems to be intended guidance towards Holden. By using “children” and “fantastic” to exemplify the immaturity of the idea, picking at the whole interior struggle of the novel: childhood versus manhood. Sally’s practically may appear influential for Holden considering he chooses not to run away, but the driving behind his decision isn’t Sally, but Phoebe. Sally’s advice in a mere distraction to Holden’s inner struggle.
Unlike other women in The Catcher in the Rye, Sunny uses her sexuality towards men, but she also is still under the power and control of men. Sunny represents the small minority of girls in the 1940’s. Even though she still lacks the power to control men, as a prostitute, her role as a woman in society hugely differs. While using her sexuality is part of her job, her desire to manipulate men is nonexistent. The whole description of her job is succumbing to the power men have over her, but she also doesn’t worship the present of men; “She never said thank you [...] when you offered her something. She just didn’t know any better”(123). With the simple act of consciously or unconsciously denying a “thank you” to Holden, she’s not conforming to the picture of the 1940’s woman. Unlike Sally who throws herself at men, Sunny uses her sexuality, but she also knows when she doesn’t have to, which is evident when she leaves Holden’s room without completing her job. However, Sunny’s independence is short lived because under the green dress and pretty face, is a girl, “young as hell,” controlled by Maurice (Sallinger 123). With Sunny’s presence in Holden’s journey, she may appear to be pushing him into his manhood, however the main theme of the novel is Holden’s fear of sex. With Sunny’s sexuality being thrown into Holden’s face, she’s pushing him away from adulthood, leaving him to crawl back into his childhood.
Although women in The Odyssey threaten the survival of the patriarchy with their monstrosity and sexuality, the women in the Catcher in the Rye don’t hold any power because they remain subordinate to men throughout the entirety of the novel; unlike the women of The odyssey who aid Odysseus on his hero’s journey, the women in the Catcher in the Rye are unable to give guidance to Holden on his journey towards manhood.
However, the dividing factor between the women in both the Odyssey and The Catcher in the Rye is the setting and the time of each storyline. The Odyssey women are the given the opportunity to have magical powers and monstrous bodies to aid them in their struggle for power, whereas the women in the Catcher in the Rye are simple everyday girls in 1940’s without any equality to men or respect from men. Women in the Catcher in the Rye can’t help aid the men because they aren’t given the chance. Nothing important was expected from the women in the 1940’s, except to care for the house and the children. The capability of women to gain power and simply want power all depends on what they’re given in order to make it
happen.