Table of contentsIntroductionFemale roles in The Epic of GilgameshConclusionBibliographyIntroductionIn The Epic of Gilgamesh, female characters play small roles, but they do not are in no way secondary to the male characters, as their roles are essential to the story. Through their roles as mothers, prostitutes and goddesses, they manipulate history according to their actions. The female characters in the story also exert great influence over the male characters and seem capable of changing their decisions and even causing their deaths. Therefore, the centrality of their role stems largely from their ability to modify men's roles. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayFemale Roles in The Epic of GilgameshIt is tempting to argue that women's roles in The Epic of Gilgamesh are secondary and serve simply to pave the way. a way for male characters, such as Gilgamesh and Enkidu, to fulfill their most important roles. Rivkah Harris supports this view by asserting that "women are viewed positively only when they assist Gilgamesh (and Enkidu) in their activities, when they feed them and advise them in a motherly way." In fact, the most obvious support for this argument is the role of the prostitute, the priestess Shamhat. Her main role is to tame Enkidu, leading him away from his wild ways using his sexuality and maternal instincts, and bringing him into the civilized world to teach him the ways of men. The trapper’s father said to his son: “She will be there, undressed; and when he sees her beckoning to him, he will kiss her, and then the wild beasts will reject him.” In this way, Shamhat's sexuality is used as a tool by a man, in order to tame her, suggesting that her role is that of a stage prop rather than that of a character in her own right. Adrien Janis Bledstein maintains that “In relation to Enkidu, a prostitute plays several roles: she is seductress, wise advisor, mother and servant. Having fulfilled these masculine functions of fulfilling desires, the woman disappears. Indeed, by leading Enkidu towards a civilized way of life, she is doing a service by allowing his character to progress and his role to unfold, because this leads him to go in search of Gilgamesh and finally to bond with him. friendship with him. Once her service is completed, her role ends, reflecting in some way her profession as a prostitute in which she satisfies the sexual desires of men without any other attachments. It can therefore be argued that her sexuality and other feminine virtues are simply used to serve men and pave the way for Enkidu's future greatness, arguably making her a secondary character whose role is just that. support. Harris also argues that "women play a secondary role." subsidiary and support parts. All, except the goddess Ishtar, assist Gilgamesh in his search for immortality.” In line with this view, it could also be argued that Utanapishtim's wife is another example of a female role serving simply as a means to pave the way for a male character's role. Her actions cause her husband to reveal to Gilgamesh the location of a plant that restores youth, as she asks him: “Gilgamesh came here exhausted, he is exhausted; what will you give him to bring him back to his own country? Here the role of a male character is once again supported by the role of a female character who helps Gilgamesh gain valuable information about the whereabouts of the growing plant.restore the young so that he can progress in his quest for immortality. The fact that her name is never revealed, and that she is instead presented as an extension of her husband, once again marginalizes her as a secondary character. This can also be seen as reflecting her role which, one could argue, is only a complement to that of her husband. John R. Maier adheres to this view, stating that "the wives in the poem are, significantly, anonymous, identified only through their husbands." It could also be argued that Utanapishtim uses his wife as a tool to teach Gilgamesh a lesson, as he orders him to “make loaves of bread, every day a loaf, and set it beside his head; and make a mark on the wall to number the days he slept” to prove to Gilgamesh that he failed to stay awake for a week. Here, she fulfills a secondary role in assisting her husband, rather than taking on a central role. However, I tend to argue that although the female characters in The Epic of Gilgamesh play small roles, they are by no means secondary characters. . Their roles seem to be based on supporting the male characters, but this makes them central characters in their own right. Shamhat's role in taming Enkidu and putting him on the path to befriend Gilgamesh is just as important as Gilgamesh and Enkidu's roles, if not more so, because without her, the majority of the events in the tale could not have taken place. Additionally, her ability to transform Enkidu from savage to civilized highlights the power of female sexuality since the epic recounts how "For six days and seven nights they remained together, for Enkidu had forgotten his home in the hills.. .the thoughts of man were in his heart.” The verb “forgotten” shows the extent of the impact that Shamhat's character has on Enkidu's character, taking him away from his old life and introducing him to a new one. The trapper's father also tells the trapper to "let his wife's power take over this man", further emphasizing the power women hold over men. Shamhat plays a dual role as both seductress and mother figure, as she teaches Enkidu the ways of civilized men. This presence of two roles within the same woman tells us about attitudes towards women in Mesopotamian society. This suggests that there was no definitive role for women, but rather a diversity of roles. This reflects a society that worshiped goddesses as well as gods, and was rife with prostitution as well as women devoted to marriage and motherhood. Shamhat said to him “Endiku, eat bread, it is the staff of life; drinking wine is the custom of the country.” This scene is reminiscent of a mother teaching a child table etiquette. Stephen Mitchell argues that Shamhat's success in taming Enkidu surpasses the achievements of any of the male characters in the tale. Indeed, rather than considering her as a paving stone for Enkidu's journey, she can instead be seen as the origin and creator of his new life, and therefore a central character and almost goddess. She is at the center of a chain of events that make up The Epic of Gilgamesh. Her maternal role also represents the Mesopotamian view of women as bearers of children and bringers of life. Enkidu's dependence on Shamhat to fulfill his role is reminiscent of a child dependent on his mother. Great male figures like Enkidu and Gilgamesh could not achieve greatness without a female influence or mother figure to nurture and guide them. The mother figure behind Gilgamesh is Ninsun, andunlike Shamhat and Enkidu, she is his biological mother. She has a large impact on the role of Gilgamesh as she interprets his dreams to mean that he will make a friend, telling him that "he will come in his strength as one of the hosts of heaven." It is the brave companion who saves his friend in times of necessity.” This interpretation of Gilgamesh's dream proves true as Enkidu searches for Gilgamesh. Ninsun's words are also a driving force behind the initiation of friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu as Gilgamesh says in response that "he will befriend him and advise him". By foreshadowing their friendship, she helps it become a reality. Furthermore, the role of Utanapishtim's wife can be considered more central than that of her husband, because it is ultimately she who decides to help Gilgamesh. . His display of empathy towards Gilgamesh is a very feminine display of virtue which in turn allows Gilgamesh to not only find the plant, but also learn a valuable lesson and accept his own mortality after it was taken from him. stolen by a snake. She is another example of women having a great influence on men, as her good nature seems to rub off on her cold-hearted husband. Ultimately, it is her decision that is final, not her husband's. He even repeats his words to Gilgamesh almost exactly: “What shall I give you to take back to your own country? ". This highlights how she is able to bend her husband's will simply by uttering a few words. The control she exorcises over her husband is subtle, as it appears at first glance that her husband is controlling when he orders her to bake bread and she does so. However, she uses her empathetic and gentle nature to ask her husband to have pity on Gilgamesh, to which he agrees almost immediately. The way she apprehends her husband for making fun of the sleeping Gilgamesh is reminiscent of a mother teaching her child what is right and wrong, when she tells her husband to "touch the man to wake him up, so that he can return to his own country in peace". Although he insists on letting him sleep for seven days, Utanapishtim ultimately accedes to his wife's request, once again emphasizing his influence on him and presenting her as an embodiment of her husband's conscience She has a major impact on the story through her kindness to Gilgamesh and her influence on her husband Another way in which the female characters in The Epic of Gilgamesh. play a central role is their wisdom and knowledge. Joseph Campbell makes a point about women in ancient mythology: “The woman, in the pictorial language of mythology, represents the totality of that which can be known The hero is. he who knows.” In other words, the woman intrinsically knows what the male hero can only discover through quests and trials. The main example of such a character would be the tavern keeper Siduri. It plays an important role in the story because it foreshadows Gilgamesh's failure in his quest for immortality. She tells him that “(he) will never find the life that (he) seeks, whereas the man created by God was assigned to him at death.” She also tells him that the temporary existence of a mortal "is the lot of man." His words carry the clear message that human beings could never and should never hope to achieve eternal life. All men are doomed to perish one day, and death is as natural as breathing. Like the female characters such as Shamhat and Ishtar who lead Gilgamesh's (and Enkidu's) journeys, Siduri makes an insightful and wise prediction about how Gilgamesh's path will unfold. This further highlights the idea that the women in The Epic of Gilgamesh playan almost puppeteer-like role, with the male characters simply following the paths laid out for them by the women. Gilgamesh chooses to ignore Siduri's advice, leading him to unhappiness, suffering, and ultimately failure. This shows that his judgment is secondary to Siduri's. Like the character Utanapishtim's wife, Siduri also assists Gilgamesh by telling him where to find Utanapishtim, which helps him progress in his quest. This is another example of women enabling men to achieve their goals. They are not secondary or subsidiary characters, but rather the driving force behind the men's actions. The women in this tale represent not only wisdom but also temptation and power. The women in the text are integral to Gilgamesh's coming-of-the-circle moment. An example of this is after Enkidu's death, when Gilgamesh seeks immortality and he meets Siduri. When he explains to her what he is looking for, she questions his judgment and explains to him what would be best for him. She says: “When the gods created man, they assigned death to him, but they preserved life.” These words describe the women's wisdom and encouragement. With these words, Siduri tries to get Gilgamesh to open his eyes and see all the good he has in his life and not run away from death, which is a natural thing declared by the gods. Even though Gilgamesh does not follow her advice, she still plays the important role of wisdom he needed. The character of Ishtar is an example of a powerful female character, who imposes her influence on the male characters. Unlike the other female characters, she sets out to destroy the two male protagonists rather than supporting or assisting them. His actions lead directly to Enkidu's death, showing his dominance over a main character and rejecting the possibility of his categorization as a supporting character. Furthermore, Gilgamesh's refusal of Ishtar's proposal is based on his fear of meeting the same fate as his former lovers. He asks her “which of your lovers have you ever loved forever?” ", which suggests that she is a woman of fickle nature, falling in love with men very easily and losing it. He also compares her to "a ram driven back by the enemy", a metaphor made in reference to her penchant for punishing her lovers when she misses them. This emphasizes how she uses her power to dominate men and ultimately destroy them, thus showing that she is a powerful female character. She does not support males, but brings them down. Her role in the story is crucial, since she uses this power to cause the death of Enkidu, ending her partnership with Gilgamesh, and leading the latter to go in search of the key to immortality. Unlike Shamhat, who gives humanity and new life to Enkidu, Ishtar is Enkidu's ultimate destroyer. Enkidu's role is undoubtedly major, but two women with such important roles to play in his very existence can surely be considered central characters in their own right. Unlike the other female characters in The Epic of Gilgamesh who become central characters through their female persona. When it comes to sexuality and motherhood, Ishtar changes gender roles by assuming the more masculine virtue of destruction. Rivkah Harris argues that "the goddess acts like a man, proposing marriage to the hero, a proposition which he rejects. She then responds in a masculine way, seeking revenge.” Indeed, she says “come to me Gilgamesh, and be my husband” (85), a request traditionally made by the male. This challenges the earlier view that the women in the tale, 2003), 120