Comparison Of Odysseus And Speculum Of The Other Women

Modern feminist thinkers are critical of these depictions of women. They argue for equality and for societies to stop oppressing them. One famous feminist author is Luce Irigary. She’s a renowned feminist thinker who works in philosophy, psychoanalysis, and linguistics. In her famous book Speculum of the Other Woman, she explains how throughout history females have been delegated to the status as inferior to males, and argues against this ideal. She believes that the idea that’s prominent in Western culture of the male being representative of culture and everything that is going on in society, while females are just seen as the other part or with “matter and nature,” is significantly flawed (Britannica). Feminists like her believe that woman should be
and lets the male, her husband Odysseus, represent the culture of their society. This is a concept that Irigary is heavily against and would criticize these depictions of women as being sexist and degrading. Irigary would rather have it such that the female is a more active member of society and seen as an equal to males in terms of religion and political thought instead of being locked up in the palace waiting for Odysseus. In the other two plays, Irigary would criticize them for portraying women as psychopaths and crazy individuals who only care about revenge. The way Clytemnestra is depicted would be horrific to Irigary, as it makes it seem as if women are easily overwhelmed by their emotion and let the thought of vengeance get in their way of reason. Also, in the story of Medea, Irigary would be disappointed to find out that she is portrayed as someone who is almost fully dependent on her husband and seeks revenge upon finding that he has left her. As a strong feminist activist, Irigary would strike these descriptions as non-representative of women and terrible examples of the reality of