Helen of Troy and Guinevere Women as representations rather than as central characters in male centered dramas
One of the most interesting passages of the Odyssey, as translated byRobert Fagles, is when one of the central characters remarks of a great(male) hero that "I tell you," he "would have repaid me well if he'd grownold right here. But now he's dead ... If only Helen and all her kind haddied" instead. The character remarks that he wishes that Helen had beenbrought "out too, brought to her knees, just as she cut the legs fromunder" the great warriors of Troy. In other words, rather than the malecharacters of Greece and Troy, who actually engaged in a war over the fateHelen, the character of the woman is blamed for the destruction waged inher name. (Fagles 299) Both Guinevere and Helen are beautiful, valued fortheir ability to inspire men to military prowess, yet blamed to the dyingwarrior's last breaths for their cruelty in sundering male friendships,even though these women did not will such sunderings nor such bloody wars The above-cited quote from the Odyssey highlights ultimately how itwas a bond between men, a vow to fight for the most beautiful woman in theworld, that inspired the war, and not any sense of competitiveness betweenGreeks and Trojans. Now, all the men who d
This ire, as expressed even after the war hasterminated shows how Helen, like the later Arthurian heroine Guinevere,functions not in her as a 'real woman' but as a medium of exchange betweenmen. Agamemnon and Achillesnearly undo the Greek cause as they argue over the slave-girl each believeshe has won as spoils of a particular battle during Trojan War. Over the course of the epic of Troy, as recounted in the Odyssey,the most positive woman portrayed in the text are women like Penelope, whowait endlessly for rewards from the men with whom they have alliedthemselves with. Theydo this, unlike Helen and like Penelope by ensuring that they are notsexually penetrated by another male presence. She is first embracedby Arthur as his queen to inspire deeds of valor in his knights, who laborin her name. Then, she proves to be the end of Camelot as she inspiresrivalry between Lancelot and Arthur. Agamemnoncomes home to be killed by his wife and her lover. Women thus function in the Greek text as contributors to discordbetween men. Penelope's fidelity is not measured only against Helen interms of her sexual fidelity, but her ability to resist becoming married toany prospective suitors and to losing her husband's kingdom for him, whilehe is away fighting for beautiful Helen. But neither woman really exists an entity withinthe narrative, as a character that the text considers interesting in and ofher own soul and will. But it is her presence, and her useof her body and character as a means of positive inspiration, then negativeinspiration, for the military motivations of men, rather than any intrinsicqualities of her own that brings her fame and her place in mythologicalhistory. She is the most beautiful lady alive!" (Rosenberg 304) LikeHelen, Guinevere is desirable because of her physical representation, whatshe represents about the man who marries her, and also eventually howfemale beauty can inspire male to valor and destroy male friendships. But although she may seem at first like a 'Mary' like figure, afemale intermediary between Christ and humanity, she ultimately does noteven extend such an ear to the noble knights of the court and undoes thegood she initially may have helped create by inspiring others with herbeauty. Bothwomen are not notable for having good or bad characters, although they maybe blamed for the beauty and the weakness attached to such great beautythat creates such discord.
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Acceptance Essays
