Women empowerment - a movement that has been on the rise, especially with the emergence of the #metoo movement and the push for equal pay. Madeline Miller’s story of Circe focuses on this important idea of women empowerment and how women cope in a society that views women as inferior to men. Circe, the main character in this greek mythology is a nymph, and all nymphs are seen as the bottom of the totem pole. In ancient Greece, women are at the bottom of the power hierarchy, which greatly affects their ability to gain any kind of power. Much like women are at the bottom of the totem poll when it comes to pay and the gender pay gap that exists in our society. Women make 82 cents for every dollar that men make. As a woman, she is susceptible to both violence and abuse from not only men but also from immortal gods. Circe also deals with the idea that women are not meant to hold power, as they are “inferior to men”. When women have power, they are distrusted and those who possess power attempt to constrain them. This can be seen directly when Circe and Pasiphaë’s abilities are discovered, Zeus and Helios become afraid of their powers, and as a result, exile Circe to an island where she can do no more harm. The irony here is that Perses and Aeëtes also possess magic, but there are no significant attempts to lessen their power simply because they are males. Though Circe is just a story, each and every day women face the struggles of men believing that they’re superior to women. Some men, like Brock Turner set the precedence for our society and show that their actions rarely lead to actual punishment, continuing the idea of empowerment over women. More reprimands for their actions must occur, as men like Brock Turner are hardly punished for their ungodly actions. Men like Brock believe that they are entitled to a woman and her body. This will never change until there is a significant change in our society. I believe that this change is on the rise because of the #metoo movement and because feminism is becoming a more and more common belief, however, we still have a long way to go. Truly, I think men feel entitled because they are scared. They're scared of women taking their spots, taking their jobs, and taking their livelihood. Men fear women with power, just like Zeus and Helios fear Circe. Circe finds that these men have a distrust in women, leading her to feel isolated physically and emotionally, a feeling many women are all too familiar with. So how do we women cope with these men who think that they’re better than us? We prove them wrong. We receive degrees, we become doctors, we become strong leaders. We prove to these men that we are more than capable of holding positions that they hold, that our bodies are OUR bodies, and they are not entitled to us or anything else for that matter. https://www.litcharts.com/lit/circe/themes https://www.aauw.org/app/uploads/2021/09/AAUW_SimpleTruth_2021_-fall_update.pdf https://www.nbcnews.com/know-your-value/feature/it-s-2021-women-still-make-82-cents-every-dollar-ncna1261755 https://www.cnn.com/2016/09/02/us/brock-turner-release-jail/index.html
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AuthorHi! My name is Alyssa and I am a fourth year Psychology major! When I'm not busy with work and school I enjoy cooking new recipes, and binging Schitt's Creek on Netflix. Archives |