The Acts of the Unsung
- Intro
- It is the small details that can often put the larger entirety within perspective. The Odyssey is a story that thrives and succeeds off the actions of the Unnamed. While male protagonists such as Odysseus and Telemachus are given their due honor and will be remembered for their deeds, there is a discreet female force working behind them, and she is not always a god. In a world where great and tragic names are immortalized by singing bards, it is the characters who are nearly invisible, who are nameless, and who are human women that act to create the basis for The Odyssey to unfold.
Body Paragraphs
- Talk about the maids who throughout the story bathe, oil and adorn the men (Book 17; 92-96, also scattered throughout)
- Beauty is a seemingly significant characteristic of Greek heroes
- Odysseus being made more attractive by Athena has saved him and granted him respect before
- Maids nurture and bring out that attractiveness of heroes
- If beauty can be linked to the gods in any way, the role of the maid in beautifying heroes is significant, if not almost necessary
- Penelope can also not recognize Odysseus when he is dressed like a beggar (not until he is clean and made “attractive” do they embrace)
- Beauty is a seemingly significant characteristic of Greek heroes
- Tal about the unnamed women who betrayed Penelope and told suitors about her unweaving (Book 14; 162-168)
- The suitors are one of the main causes of grief/conflict throughout the plot
- Telemachus fears losing his inheritance and also dying because of them
- Odysseus disguises himself and cannot arrive home at ease
- If not for these women, Penelope might have continued tricking the suitors, or tricked them long enough to think of something new until Odysseus returned
- Because of the women, many men and women died and an essential part of the plot/Telemachus’ rise to manhood actually happened
- The suitors are one of the main causes of grief/conflict throughout the plot
- The unnamed maid who gave Odysseus an interpretation of the sign from Zeus (Book 20; 125-133)
- Without the gods supporting him Odysseus might not have taken action, so he prayed to know that Zeus was on his side
- A woman working at the mill hears a thunderclap and says Zeus must be giving someone a sign
- She asks that that be the last day the suitors feast in the hall
- Because of this nameless woman’s interpretation, Odysseus sees this as a confirmation of his vengeance and takes action that same day
- Happens to be the day when he has a good opportunity to do so through the bow and arrow contest
- Conclusion
- It is through the Nameless that the plot moves. The power of Greek beauty that associates Odysseus with both respect and memory can be considered being the attribute of a god, or the work of a maid. The secrets unseen and unnamed maids are able to learn and share lead to the disintegration of Penelope’s ongoing delay and Telemachus’ inheritance. And the opinion of one tired female mill worker spurs Odysseus into action and leads to the downfall of hundreds of men. These unnamed female servants may act in small ways, but it is through those unsung works that the heroes can lead and the very plot can form.
Hi JoMaris! I really love how your focus of the essay is on women, and how they are the silent mover of the plot in The Odyssey.
The servant woman are certainly driving forces of the plot when they unveil Penelope’s unweaving to the suitors. They not only put Penelope and Telemachus in danger, but also make Odysseus’ homecoming much more complicated.
Your essay reminded me quite a bit of Chao’s essay about death. Odysseus valued death because he views it as a chance to leave his legacy. The nameless female characters in The Odyssey played a strong role in Odysseus’ life. However, they will likely not be remembered for all the good, and bad that they have done. They were nameless in life and will remain as such in death as well – despite their roles in The Odyssey.
Also, you organized your essay brilliantly! I like how you used both numbers, letter’s and bullet points to organize your outline. It will be a breeze to structure your paragraphs when you start writing your essay!
Hi JoMaris,
I agree with Deborah. Your idea that the Nameless is profound and often overlooked. There are two things that I can think of that might be helpful:
1. The description of the nameless servants in the epic. Servants were often described as “grave but dignified”, characteristics often attributed to soldiers. This elevates the status of these seemingly lowly servants to the glorious men in battle.
2. Athena, who is not a part of the nameless, disguised multiple times as one. When Odysseus came back to Ithaca, for example, Athena appeared as a “young man out herding sheep.” To be fair, she disguised as a nameless man and not a woman, so I’m not sure if this would directly contribute to your essay, but I feel like there’s something there about someone as powerful as Goddess Athena becoming a nameless to drive the story forward.
Jomaris,
This is a fantastic topic–really focused and interesting. I cannot wait to read the final paper.
A couple of thoughts on other moments of namelessness, as you continue writing:
1) Does it matter, to your thesis, that Odysseus himself claims to be a person without a name (“Noman” or no-man; sometimes translated as “Nobody”) to Polyphemus? Is namelessness something the text acknowledges differently here, even celebrates?
2) In Hades, Achilles asserts it would be better to be a nameless, living farmer than to be a great, dead hero. This makes me wonder: is namelessness a matter only of gender (as the paper sketched above suggests) or also of station in life?
If you choose not to address these moments, you may want to make your claim about specifically *feminine* anonymity. Women are named when they are 1) goddesses, 2) noble AND associated with a male hero, 3) very, very occasionally, when they serve a hero (think of Eurycleia). Yet, as you note, the Odyssey teems with unnamed women.
Excellent work.
Prof Kolb