In Book 5 when all the gods except Poseidon agree to release Odysseus, Hermes is sent to do his messenger job and tell Calypso to move on and let Odysseus free. This is the first time we as readers are meeting Calypso and seeing her side of the story. I expected her to be this villainous enchantress-like character, but her dialogue didn't really match up to that.
Calypso really ticked off when Hermes tells her that Zeus is commanding her to release Odysseus. She points out that goddesses are not allowed to have affairs with mortal men while male gods are basically sleeping with mortal women left and right. By criticizing the double standard among gods and goddesses, she's kind of like an early Ancient Greek feminist to me. I don't know Calypso's views on other issues that may show she isn't, but she is taking a stand for herself while also bringing light to a problem in the godly patriarchy (in the end she can't defy Zeus so she lets Odysseus go). I have yet to see Penelope speak up against her suitors, so Calypso pops out to me as a strong female character.
I also this dynamic was extremely interesting. When I first read the lines about Odysseus crying on the beach, I wasn't even sure if I read it correctly because I wasn't used to such a reversal of gender roles in the Odyssey. Especially considering that Odysseus is supposed to be the strong hero and this seems to give us more depth about his character. I was also surprised to see the critique of the double standard of men and women in the ancient times. But I'd really like to believe that Calypso really is standing up to the men.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Grace. I really like the comparison you make between Odysseus’ and Penelope’s situation, but I think that the key difference between the two is that Penelope remains (physically) loyal while Odysseus does not. Other than that, I totally agree with your post. I was also shocked when Calypso told Hermes off in Book 5, but it was a pleasant surprise to see her stand up for herself.
ReplyDeleteI understand and kind of admire Calypso defending her position, but she's more of an obsessive villain to me. I feel like people keep downplaying how she literally trapped Odysseus for SEVEN YEARS, and how their relationship kind of sorta bordered on rape?! Imagine everyone's outrage if the roles were reversed. Some male god keeps a traveling woman trapped on an island, refusing to let them return to their family, and every morning she wakes up and starts sobbing. See my point here? Again, I'm glad Calypso calls the male gods out on their double standard, but we can't just ignore the sketchiness of her other actions.
ReplyDeleteCalypso is definitely the more modern of the two female characters (Penelope included), and the argument she makes for the double standard of gods having affairs vs. goddesses is definitely a feminist argument in my mind. However, I'm not sure her decision to keep Odysseus on her island for a number of years is necessarily a very feminist concept. If she were a more avid feminist I picture something more along the lines of keeping Odysseus, but not having an affair with him, and not really paying attention to him. Because after all, her entire role in the epic is as an obstacle for Odysseus. It doesn't seem very feminist that she needs a man to keep her company in order for her to be happy.
ReplyDeleteGood point about the reversal of gender roles in the Calypso/Odysseus situation. Of course, the distinction between them that really matters most is immortal/mortal, but we do see Odysseus weeping a lot throughout this poem, and it doesn't seem to detract at all from his hero-status (indeed, it enhances the sense of his deep emotional investment in homecoming).
ReplyDeleteBut Calypso pointing out the sexual double standard as it applies on Mt. Olympus is even more interesting. I agree that her complaint could be accurately called "feminist": she directly challenges a double standard that allows male gods like Zeus to have intimate relations with mortals, but Calypso is forced to turn Odysseus over (after, it must be admitted, a pretty decent 10-year run!).
One of the most interesting things about this poem for me is what a loose hold "Homer" seems to have on his own interpretation of the story. He makes his biases clear in the invocation, he's totally pro-Odysseus, but we hear voices speak up from the other side(s) throughout: the suitors making a decent case for how they've been misled and manipulated; Eurylochus making a reasonable case for "mutiny". For me, one of the most significant happens in book 24, when the families of the slaughtered suitors gather outside Odysseus's gates. Like a good novel, _The Odyssey_ contains multiple points of view, and the reader isn't necessarily compelled to follow the author's intention.