e. She holds on to her moral positions and cares for her husband. Athena, a symbol of female virtue and feminism herself would see these deceptions and evil but saw none in Penelope. In addition, her love for Odysseus was genuine as their intimacy allowed her to know things about Odysseus that others did not. Penelope's contest with the bow was not to find the best among the suitors but proved to find Odysseus. This reinforced that there is faithfulness and good in women. When a man meets this with the same qualities, then things will work out for the best. However, contrary to this is Penelope's counterpart Klytemnestra in story. Klytemnestra represents the "worst of women" as she had "defiled herself and all her sex"(XI line 502-3). In the same category as Klytemnestra are opposites of Queen Arete. Queen Arete holds the role of looking kindly upon Odysseus and listening to his prayers. Women who do not look upon him kindly are Kalypso, Kirke, the Sirens, Skylla and Kharybdis. These women along with other served to oppose Odysseus and also test him. They each represent the modern message of women as a femme fatale. Their combinations of lust, love, pleasure and danger make them something to fear. Kalypso and Kirke seduce and bewitch. Sirens lure. Skylla and Kharybdis devour and destroy. Kalypso serves as a temptress who is a fantasy and pleasure on an island but would not be an ideal wife. Her test for Odysseus is to see if he would give in to her feminine charms and accept the immortality she offered. Kirke is a witch with manipulative powers and her skills of craft, deception, and sexuality. Kirke and Kalypso demonstrate that sex is a powerful weapon in a woman's arsenal but this generalization does not make them the only guilty party. Men like the suitors who choose to be with women because of what they have to offer are also at fault. Sexuality among mortals and immortals is another essential portrayal of wom...
