Gender roles research paper

In most cases, the literary works reflect on the day-to-day human life activities, culture, religion, politics and economic patterns. These aspects form the thematic construction of most literary works. Hence, there is a one to one connection between what is reflected in the literary works and what is in the real life. This implies that literature always breathes life through societal reflection. Theme The thematic construction in both the epic of Gilgamesh and Homer’s epic poem revolves around power, leadership and gender roles. The epic of Gilgamesh In the case of this poem, the thematic construction is founded on the leadership, power, love, and wisdom. The aspect of gender roles comes in handy in this piece of work because most of the themes are intertwined with the gender roles. The women have been used in the poem to depict the great things that women can do with the aid of men.

For instance, in this poem, the role of women has been well choreographed in such a manner that they shape the life of the King. King Gilgamesh of Uruk, which is a city in Mesopotamia, is seen struggling with the emotions and imaginations of having a life that is eternal. This event depicts the power of women in the realms of power. Despite the fact that women in this poem are depicted as taking the second tier in the society they play great roles about power. In an actual sense, women can be said to be powerful and kingmakers in this literacy work thus owed respect. Further, women are used in the poem to define the boundaries of existence between humans and divine powers, which are represented, by gods and goddesses.

In the case of the divine powers, the women characters such as Ishtar and Siduri help in sustaining the boundaries between the demesnes of humankind and godlike. The most dominant aspect among the women characters who included Thetis, Andromache and Helen is the love and passion for their loved ones. The Trojan War is one of the most dangerous wars that have ever happened on the planet earth and the show of love and passion by the women characters is a clear indication of their perception on war and conflict. In most cases, women do not support the war because war ends up to making them widows or breadwinners in families. For example, the show of compassion by Thetis on his son tells it that she never supported all the activities that preceded the Trojan War.

This excerpt indicates the general perception of women in war and conflicts. This expression of fear and passion for having a peaceful society indicates the emotional expression of the women characters in this poem. This instance indicates that as much as it might appear that women wanted the war to begin, their emotional expression indicated that they were far from supporting war and aggregation. This implies that the women’s love for their children supersedes the passion for war and aggression. Essentially, women play a great role in the epic poem the lliad as they assume the positions of gods and goddesses (Albert 85). In addition, women play significant roles of wise advisors to the leadership and those at the helm of power. This is a sign of passion and love for the loved ones and can only be expressed by women.

On the other hand, the women in the case of the epic of Gilgamesh who include Siduri show compassion for the king by supplying all that he needed and this included food, love and clothing. Siduri showed the king that he could have happy each moment when he is with a woman. In essence, the thematic connection between the role of women in the epic of Gilgamesh and the epic of lliad is that women are used to show empathy, voice of reason and a sign of love within the society. However, the women characters were also used in depicting the gender roles in the two poems. Gilgamesh: A Reader. Wauconda, Illinois: Bolchazy-Carducci, 1997. Print. Lord, Albert B. Homer, the Trojan War, and history.