I need help creating a thesis and an outline on The Role of Gender in the Odyssey. Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide. An abstract is required. Gender plays a very important role in the Odyssey especially the female characters, discussion in the following paragraphs involves the analysis of these major characters.

Female Characters of the Odyssey:

1) Penelope:

There are various female characters of historical and mythical importance in this ancient Greek masterpiece. The importance of these characters is pivotal. The most important character among them is Penelope the mother of Telemachus and the faithful wife of Odysseus. The patience and devotion of this character are admirable, for almost twenty years she kept herself devoted to her long-gone husband. Intelligently tackling the situation in which her destiny brought her. Though in ancient times women were considered to be weaker than men and in the male-dominated society tactfully violating the rules set for the social role of woman could not be an easy job.

Penelope emerges as the strong presence of feminism in the poem, which in order to divert or snub the odious suitors, takes refuge in weaving. She states that she won’t marry until she has woven a mourning gown for her father in law. And for three consecutive years, she keeps on hiding from the suitors by un-weaving the gown in the night and delaying the marriage. Until a traitorous maid discloses the secret to the suitors, who then start to pressurize her to choose one of them as her husband and future king of Ithaca. Some of them also ask the gods to intervene to kill her or convince her to marry. Penelope is left alone, while both her son and husband are away from Ithaca.

She is forced to make a decision, but in order to keep the honor of her esteemed husband, announces that she would only marry the man who could string Odysseus’s bow and shoot an arrow from twelve axle shaft. But the fact is that apart from her husband, the only man who can do it is her son.

She is forced to make a decision, but in order to keep the honor of her esteemed husband, announces that she would only marry the man who could string Odysseus’s bow and shoot an arrow from twelve axle shaft. But the fact is that apart from her husband, the only man who can do it is her son. In the meantime, Odysseus emerges in Ithaca in the disguise of a beggar, participates in the competition, and successfully shoots the arrow, resultantly won the Penelope hand in marriage by defeating the other suitors and claimed that he is the long-gone ruler of this land, Odysseus. Here too the Penelope did not allow her emotions to take over her intelligence and she decided to test the reality of this suitors and ordered one of the nurses to bring her bed out of her room and “after bringing the stout bedstead, put bedding upon it” (Book23, Line 179), she knew that if it would be her real husband, not an imposter he would know about the reality of the bed.

And in the end, Homer describes that Odysseus honors her faithful wife by killing all the suitors and begins ruling his kingdom wisely along with Telemachus (Murnaghan, 1986). She proved her worth in a disadvantageous and male-dominated society and kept her vow, her character is one who knows what to get form life.