The Role of Women in The Gilgamesh

A detailed Summary of The Role of Women in The Gilgamesh


The role of women has been changing throughout history. There have been matriarchal societies and ones where women have been considered to be subordinate to men in all aspects. One of the themes in Gilgamesh is the role of women. Women are seen are the downfall of men, nurturers, and possessions. The varying role of women in Gilgamesh is representative of the time period it was written in since the role of women was changing drastically from wise women to subordination during the Bronze Age.

Enkidu's unfortunate and untimely death is ultimately caused by a woman. If Gilgamesh had not sent the prostitute into the forest to sleep with Enkidu he would have never known the hardships of being a "real" human. The first night that Gilgamesh and Enkidu are in the forest waiting for Humbaba Enkidu thinks of how he was once one with the forest until the prostitute came into his life; he is scared because he keeps seeing visions of his former life. On his death bed, Enkidu screams "Because of her. She made me see/Things as a man, and a man sees death in things. /That is what it


Another example of how women can cause the downfall of men in Gilgamesh is when Gilgamesh meets Siduri, the barmaid on his way to find Utnapishtim. She takes him in, bathes him, and sleeps with him. She then tries to persuade him to stay with her instead of going on; she tells him his journey is in vain and if he stays with her she will bring him great pleasure. Gilgamesh realizes he must go on and suddenly feels suffocated in her presence. Siduri then reluctantly gives him directions to Utnapishtim's, but still believes he is foolish to go on. If Gilgamesh had given into the temptation of Siduri he would have never ended his grieving and learned how to deal with his suffering.

Women are viewed as good and bad; pure and evil in Gilgamesh. This is representative of the many types of women there are in the world. It is interesting how this very early epic depicts so many different types of women. Gilgamesh shows in this regard that women have always played some type of role in history, whether it was for the better or worse.

Gilgamesh's mother, Ninsun, is an e

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Approximate Word count = 729
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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