Heroism and Agency
Throughout much of history, gods, heroes, leaders, champions, the good guys and the protagonists have marginally been male. That’s not to say that females weren’t ever present, it would just seem that women don’t receive the same accolades for their heroics. But women are heroic; for they are that character that goes through trials and tribulations and overcomes every obstacle thrown their way. Women also possess grace and beauty as well as strength, inward and outward. But most importantly, women are heroes not only in the way they offer support, wisdom and love but also fight and protect themselves and others, no matter what.
However, in a world predominantly ruled by men, women struggle to assert themselves and the things that they want for themselves. It seems a woman’s only purpose is to serve a man. And because of man’s dominance, a woman’s heroics can often be misconstrued as deception, villainy, or rebellion; leaving women to find creative ways to save themselves.
In the Odyssey, Odysseus’ wife Penelope has to defend herself from multiple suitors. Having no husband, she is essentially an available woman, thus the suitable men of the kingdom come to Odysseus’ home, hoping to persuade Penelope into marrying one of them, whilst eating up all the food, expending Odysseus’ resources and wealth, even plotting to do in Telemachos, Penelope and Odysseus’ son. For as it is known, men rule the world, and thus their behavior isn’t seen as deplorable or unacceptable to some. An unmarried woman is fair game, especially Penelope with the riches her dowry would bring. These men are looking to up their status and amast some wealth at the same time.
Yet Penelope is not going to let the suitors pressure her. Cleverly, she tells them “until I finish / this web . . . This is a shroud for the hero Laertes [Odysseus’ father] . . . lest any / Achaian woman in this hold it against me.” (p. 286, Book 19, lines 142-46, Lattimore) This is very smart of Penelope. Not only does she use the tradition of Achaia to ensure that the suitors will not impose marriage upon her, she also uses her gender by stating the other women will hold it against her. For if it is the role of man to make the rules, then it is the role of woman to follow them, and Penelope is most definitely using this to her advantage. But she takes it a step further. “In the daytime I would weave at my great loom / but in the night I would have torches set by it, and undo it.” (p. 286, Book 19, lines 149-150, Lattimore) This will ensure that no man can marry her and maybe Penelope can brave the loss of her husband a little while longer.
Yet this plan is ruined by her maid servant and Penelope is forced to finish the shroud. This presents an obstacle for Penelope because she no longer has an excuse for not marrying one of the suitors. Not only that, this obstacle also forces her to come up with another way to avoid marriage. Despite the fact that men and women are both clever, women have to rely heavily on their cleverness to overcome their trials, since they can’t just outright tell me. Plus, it isn’t just men who suppress women, other women are also responsible for the oppression women face.
Women face opposition from all sides, from those opposite them and those who should be allies in the fight. Yet seeing how all women are ruled by men, there’s no other option than to throw Penelope to the wolves. Women are often forced into situations that go against their nature of support, wisdom and love into conniving and betrayal in order to circumvent punishment. In Penelope’s case, she was forced into deceiving all those men in an attempt to satiate them. Not only that, Penelope’s defies the men’s desires for own
Although, Penelope’s heroic act isn’t just to diminish man’s desires but to prolong her own. When she first suggests weaving the shroud, Odysseus hadn’t been gone that long and thus isn’t presumed dead yet. Thus her desire not wanting to remarry is purely because she loves her husband and wants to wait for him. Plus, Penelope sets the precedent that she will neither be forced, pressured, coerced or tricked into remarriage. For the true test of a hero is loyalty and bravery in the face of adversity.
This certainly couldn’t be more true of Shahrazad from Arabian Nights. Originally titled 1001 Nights, King Shahrayar decides all women are villainous and he must be the hero that saves himself, thus he chooses to take a woman every night before killing them in the morning. Here we see King Shahrayar use woman’s wickedness to incite his own villainy and kill all the women in his kingdom.
One would think he’d just opt out of marrying altogether and continue his duties as king and just be celibate. By taking a wife each night and killing them in the morning, King Shahrayar is dwindling the female population of his kingdom. For if there are fewer women within the population, the easier it is to control them and oppress them.
This depletion of women in the kingdom cements man’s rule of the world, increasing their hold of power and decreasing women’s ability to assert themselves. Moreso, this shows that men only seek women for their own pleasure, but don’t care for their presence. Also, this shows how oppressive a man that he cares so little for a woman, that he’d rather see death than allow her to seek her own pleasure. Most importantly, this femicide ensures that no one will oppose them, that women shall never be heroes for fear of death.
But heroes always rise, no matter the adversity they face. Here, Shahrazad tells her father, the vizier, “I would like you to marry me to King Shahrayar, so that I may either succeed in saving the people or perish and die like the rest.” (p. 15, Haddawy) Though Shahrazad already knows the outcome, which is death, she is still willing to sacrifice herself in order to save the kingdom. More importantly, she is taking a stand against male tyranny and the vilification of women.
So far, Shahrazad has been completely removed from the fray. Her father being the vizier would make sure to keep her safe. But therein lies the problem. Shahrazad could not have chosen on her own to opt out of the king’s murder spree. So much so that the king even says, “Vizier, how is it that you have found it possible to give me your daughter.” (p. 20, Haddawy) The king doesn’t even consider that this could all be Shahrazad’s idea. Nor does he do the noble thing and tell the vizier he will not take his daughter. Women have so little agency that men don’t even consider them to have the free will to think for themselves. But this also shows that King Shahrayar and men alike will not yield their control over women. For once man has made his decision, even if it is the wrong one, he will not change course. Thus, the only way for women to protect themselves from men is to have a man save them, thus diminishing Shahrazad’s heroism and disregarding her agency. More importantly, women are not valued enough to make their own choices.
But Shahrazad does go to the king, despite her father’s warning or the king’s insistence on this slaughter of women. However, she instructs her sister, Dinarzad, to go to the king once he and Shahrazad have spent the night and ask for a story. This ensures that Shahrazad isn’t up to mischief but also endears the king, softening him up a bit. This shows that Sharazad seeking assistance ensures the success of the plan. But it also shows the bond between sisters, women even, and that the power of womanhood is strong enough to overcome the oppression of man.
Yet her true heroic feat is telling stories to the king, prolonging her death and continually intriguing the king enough to want to hear another story, another night. This shows the mass amount of knowledge Shahrazad possesses with all the stories she tells. I mean, the story is originally called 1001 Nights, although the translation ends somewhere around 200 or 300 nights. Still, that is no small feat. But this also shows how resourceful Shahrazad is. To know which stories to tell, what order to tell the stories in, and where to end those stories to ensure the king will want to hear the rest another day. This proves that Shahrazad has thought things through and isn’t impulsively jumping into the fray, sacrificing herself needlessly. This shows the intelligence of a woman and that it isn’t necessary for a man to make her decisions for her because she can think for herself.
And we see this shift in the treatment towards women in the Volsungs’ Saga. Although women are still forced into marriage and their wisdom is dismissed by men, they do take more of an initiative to act in their own self-interest, rather than concede to a man. With Brynhild, she is introduced wearing a chainmail and has struck down the great warrior Hjalmgunnar in battle and is punished by Odin with a sleeping spell. This goes to show that Brynhild is not a conventional woman. While Penelope and Shahrazad use their cleverness to ward off men, Brynhild physically battles them. This altercation shows that Brynhild is a great warrior herself, as equal to any man, if not better and she wants to make that point clear to the patriarchy. But this also shows that Brynhild wanted to test the strength of this great warrior. And later she says, “I would marry no one who knew fear.” (p. 67, Byock) This shows that Brynhild will not marry anyone she considers weak. Not only that, this shows that Brynhild will be the one deciding who she marries and not her father. Brynhild is taking ownership of her own life and asserting herself through her heroism. More so, she is showing the patriarchy that she doesn’t need a man to make decisions for her. She is most certainly capable of doing that herself.
Though Sigurd steals some of Brynhild’s agency by assaulting her awake, Brynhild does not let that take away from her awesome warrior status. Her chainmail alone lets you know that she is a woman to be reckoned with, but it is her response that cements her warrior status. She could have chosen to tell of her powerful king of a father or of the land where she comes from. She also could have offered her hand in marriage since Sigurd has rescued her. No, she chooses to talk of battle and her victory over her man. This goes to show that Brynhild values battle and wants to gage Sigurd’s response to her testament. She knows of Sigurd’s triumph over the serpent Fahnir, thus he is a warrior in his own right. But he is still a man, and thus he could still oppose her, even try to battle her. But all Sigurd says is, “Teach me the ways of mighty things.” (p.67, Byock)
This is the first time in the texts that a man has readily sought out the advice of a woman. Though Shahrayar wants to hear more of Shahrazad’s stories, he does so for his own benefit of being entertained. Sigurd seems genuinely interested to hear what Brynhild has to say. Though initially this was to test her to see if she is as wise as is claimed, her words sway him to hear more. This shows that a woman can move man with her words, but also lift herself to equal standing with a man. That is possible for men and women to coexist peacefully and respectfully towards each other, and hopefully one day become equals.
The word heroine is in the dictionary, yet these texts would have you believe that women are less than men and that their place is under man’s oppressive thumb. Thus, reinforcing the fact that women lack agency and that the men are here to rule the world as they see fit, regardless of how it treats women. However, women have used their heroics to overcome man’s oppression, asserting themselves into their own identities, defending themselves from any and all adversities, and proving their value in the world, not man’s world. But women have had an uphill battle in trying to assert themselves. Men and women have both tried to suppress their voice and crush their dreams, but women persevere through it all, using their strength, wisdom, resourcefulness and love to conquer many trials. But what truly makes women heroic is their bravery in the face of adversity. Despite knowing the outcome of their situation, whether it be a forced marriage, ridicule and even death, women do not back down from a challenge, and always find a way to win the day.
Works Cited
Lattimore, Richmond, translator. The Odyssey of Homer. First Harper Perennial Modern Classics edition, 2007.
Haddawy, Husain, translator. The Arabian Nights, edited by Muhsin Mahdi, W. W. Norton & Company, 2008.
Byock, Jesse, translator. The Saga of the Volsungs. Penguin Classics, 2000.
