Creative Intellect

Not So Different Countries and Cultures

         Last time, I questioned as to why Helen was not the one making the decision regarding her future husband. As I continued to think about it, I began wondering about the difference of gender roles in Homeric society. Paris and Menelaus saw Helen as a prize to be won, an object, and Chinese men see women as someone who will tame them and carry on the family name. Therefore, I had initially imagined Homeric society to be like current day China’s 男重女轻 (nan zhong nü qing) stereotype , where men dominate over women in every facet of society.
         While I am aware that many cultures have different social structures, coming from a Chinese background, this surprised me. Something that especially struck me as I researched this week was an article from an English magazine, The Spectator. The columnist, Peter Jones, wrote “both parties [are] united in respect for and commitment to each other, the family and its needs. Humiliation and subjugation do not come into it.” He sees the two genders as equal. While they both have remarkably different roles, neither role is more important than the other. Contrarily, men in China marry women for their dowries and looks, obviously showing who the dominant gender is. However, all they have to do is wait a few years: men will run out of women to marry, because at some point, the women will either all be married or not yet of age to marry. This extremity will eventually seesaw the other way, and women will be the ones choosing the men.

Works Cited:
Homer. The Iliad. Trans. Robert Fagles. NY: Penguin Books, 1990.
Jones, Peter. "A woman’s place in Homer." The Spectator 15 Dec. 2012. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.