Margarita Arnold

ENG 251 1W0V-FA12

October 15, 2012

The Roles of Women in World Literature

The role of women both divine and human in world literature is significant, as women are revered and frowned upon in ancient texts. Religion, culture and custom are the reasons why women play such an important role in history of writing and text. In the ancient texts of Epic of Gilgamesh, the Book of Songs, the Ramayana, and One Thousand and One Nights, women influences extend throughout the texts.

In the Epic of Gilgamesh gender plays a central role in determining who has the power, but women are the one that influence the decisions which the men make. In Gilgamesh, Enkindu and Gilgamesh are the main characters of the story, but the story would not go far if women were not involved. The roles of women in Gilgamesh include child bearers, lovers, nurturers, and creators of the world and civilization in ancient Mesopotamia. The birth goddess Aruru who created “the boundless human race” (15), also created Enkindu who was uncivilized and the match to Gilgamesh. Enkindu lived in the wild, terrifying humans and running wild with the beasts until a frightened hunter came to Gilgamesh and told him about wild Enkindu. Gilgamesh advised the hunter to take Shamhat the harlot to civilize Enkindu. Shamhat “exposed her loins” and “treated him, as a human, to woman’s work” (17), after the encounter Enkindu had the smell of civilization and was no longer wild. Enkindu had to return with Shamhat the harlot to Uruk. The encounter with Shamat shows us the power of women’s sexuality as lovers over men as well as an facilitator of converting Enkindu to civilization. The role of women as nurturers is revealed in Tablet XI, where Utanapishtim rejects Gilgamesh’s plea to give him the answer to eternal life. Utanapishtim’s wife takes pity on Gilgamesh, “Gilgamesh has come here, spent with exertion, What will you give him for his homeward journey?” (80); so Utanapishtim agrees to tell Gilgamesh how to retrieve the plant that makes a person young again. Although Gilgamesh loses the plant, he was able to accomplish his journey, through the convictions and words of Utanapishtim’s wife and return as a man to Uruk.

The Book of Songs reflects women’s roles as daughters, mothers, wives and lovers. The collection of short poems in the Book of Songs reveals the feelings advice with short themes for both women and men. In Dead Roe Deer a young virgin “all wrapped in white rushes” resists the attempts of a seducer, “a gentlemen led her astray” with victory “do not touch my apron, sir” (687). The woman presumably plays the role of a daughter, not yet married. The symbolism of a virgin is that the deer is wrapped in white, and the word white is repeated throughout the poem. The poem Quince represents the role of a woman as a lover, being courted by the man: “She cast a quince at me, a costly garnet I returned; it was no equal return but by this love will last.” (688) In the poem Rooster Crows a woman plays out her role of being a wife, with the man playing the

role of the hunter and the provider of the family. Chinese poetry is very easy to read and understand, with women playing the roles of nurturing, kind human beings as perceived in many cultures. The roles of women in Chinese culture are being a home maker.

In Hinduism women’s roles are to be subservient to their husbands, meek, humble, and chaste. In the epic of Ramayana, Sita who is to become Rama’s wife is portrayed as the perfect woman, who was lucky to get Rama’s hand in marriage. The mother of Rama, Kausalya was praised to “have done great penance to get him as her husband.” (728) Sita is the prefect wife who will follow Rama to the ends of the earth. This is portrayed in Sita’s speech to Rama as he is exiled to the wilderness: “To a woman, neither father not son nor mother nor friends but the husband alone is her sole refuge here in the world and in the other world too.” (734) Sita is kidnapped by a demon and is made to pass a series of trials where she stayed loyal to Rama. Sita is banished, with a question of loyalty from Rama after her test with the demon. Sita proves that she can be humble, chaste, and subservient to her husband which makes her a true Hundu woman.

In One Thousand and One Nights, the role of women changes into being witty and charming. It is a story within a story of morals and values of everyday life. The first sory is of a king who marries every night and the kills his newly wed bride in the morning. Shahrazad, the vizier’s daughter decides to cure him of this bad habit by telling his stories throughout the night. The stories are so interesting, that the king lets Shahrazad live through the day, so he can hear the next story. She finally convinces the king not to kill her and teaches him every day lessons of normal society.

Women are important in literature and in history of everyday life. They play the roles of mothers, nurturers, daughters, lovers, and schemers. World literature would not be as great without woman characters and the rolls they play.

The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Vol. 1. New York: WW Norton & Company, 2009.

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