Women In Homer's The Odyssey

In The Odyssey by Homer, three very different women are in love with Odysseus. Circe, Kalypso, and Penelope all love Odysseus in a unique way and show it differently. Circe’s love for Odysseus is based on physical attraction, Odysseus’ accompaniment and body is the premise for Kalypso’s love, while Penelope’s love is the deepest for Odysseus.
Circe’s love for Odysseus is based on physical attraction and is weaker than the others. Circe says, “You are then resourceful Odysseus...Come then, put away your sword in its sheath, and let us two go up into my bed so that, lying together in the bed of love, we may then have faith and trust in each other”(161.330-335). Circe just has a physical relationship with Odysseus and they never truly have a relationship. Even after they just met, Circe wants to be
intimate showing a purely physical attraction. Unlike Penelope, Circe is not distraught when Odysseus leaves and actually helps them to go even after they have shared special nights together. Homer writes, “...but fair-haired Circe, the dread goddess who talks with mortals, sent us an excellent companion, a following wind, filling the sails…”(189.148-150). Circe does not try to stop Odysseus or weep for his departure, but actually helps him to go. Circe does not feel deep love for Odysseus, so she does nothing to make get him to stay, unlike Kalypso who wants Odysseus forever. Kalypso’s love is intense, but is based on his presence and physical appearance. Kalypso wants intimacy with Odysseus and is even forceful because she has been alone so many years. The book explains, “By nights he would lie beside her, of necessity, in the hollow caverns, against his will, by one who was willing”(92.154-155). Kalypso has been yearning for companionship for so many years, she does not care about Odysseus feelings. She is so enticed and infatuated with Odysseus that her feelings for him overshadow good morals. Since, Kalypso admires Odysseus so much, she offers him extraordinary gifts to convince him to stay. Kalypso says, “...I gave him my love and cherished him, and I had hopes also that I could make him immortal and all his days to be endless”(91.135-136). Kalypso cares for Odysseus so much that she is willing to give him some of her immortality. She wants to be with Odysseus forever showing her intense love for him. Even though, Kalypso’s love is intense, it does not have the same depth as what Penelope feels for Odysseus. Penelope’s love is the deepest for Odysseus since she is his wife and fell in love with him for more than just his appearance.
Penelope is completely heart broken when Odysseus leaves and even after twenty years can not get over him. Penelope says to a singer, “...but leave off singing this sad song, which afflicts the dear heart deep inside me, since the unforgettable sorrow comes to me, beyond others, so dear a head do I long for whenever I am reminded of my husband”(36.340-344). Penelope even says that she feels a sorrow beyond any she has felt when she hears the sad songs of her dear husband. Even though she does not know whether he is dead or alive, she still grieves for him and will not move on. Antikleia explains to Odysseus, “All too much with enduring heart she does wait for you there in your own palace, and always with her the wretched nights and the days also waste her away with weeping”(173.181-183). Penelope shows her heartfelt love through her constant grief over Odysseus’s absence. Unlike the other two women, Penelope weeps and laments for Odysseus because her love is so passionate. This is why Penelope’s love is the strongest of the love felt for
Odysseus.