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Gender Roles and Sexuality in The Epic of Gilgamesh and Little Red Riding Hood : Critical Analysis
Since the beginning of time, gender and gender norms has been a constant tug of war battle. Because I am a woman, I deserve this right. Because I am a man, I have the authority to tell women what they can and cannot do, etc. In the previous few decades, gender norms have not been prevalent in society, however gender roles and expectations have been seen in some of the oldest literature. In this essay, I will argue that women have been used as objects and sexual servants for years while men take what they want when they want it because they can.
In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, who was two thirds god and one third man, had the mindset of pure power. Because of his two thirds god side and title in Uruk, he believed nothing could stop him from doing what he wanted. He did not have a care in the world for who he hurt in his path and focused only on what would make him happiest not matter the cost. So much so, that he would have sex with newlywed women before they could be with their husbands because he believed he deserved it. The citizens of Uruk knew of nothing to stop Gilgamesh from creating chaos and destruction so they prayed to Aruru, Mother Goddess, stating, Like a wild bull, he makes himself mighty, head raised (over others). There is no rival who can raise his weapon against him (Tablet I, pg 8). Because of the complaints, Aruru created an equal for Gilgamesh by the name of Enkidu. Enkidu, created from clay, was one with nature and a trapper went to Gilgamesh for help when Enkidu continued to interfere with his traps. Gilgameshs solution was to bring Enkidu a harlot by the name of Shamhat to tame Enkidu into civilization. The trapper stated, This is he, Shamhat! Release your clenched arms, expose your sex so he can take in your voluptuousness. Do not be restrained take his energy (Tablet I, pg 11). This is one example of how gender roles were in the Sumarian culture. Why is it that the first thing Gilgamesh thought of to deal with someone else’s issue was to use a woman? Women are simply supposed to do as men say in this culture and be there as sexual servants when needed be. Some are forced against their will and some choose to do it because they believe it is their duty, and it was socially constructed that way. On the other hand, the creation of Enkidu was strictly done to either challenge or domesticate Gilgamesh. When they quarrelled, Gilgamesh’s manhood and authority was challenged significantly. However, Gilgamesh realized that Enkidu was the only one who debilitated him and they ended the fight with a hug. This was when Gilgamesh realized that he was only acting so cruel and inhumane because he was trying to fill the void that he assumed only a woman could fulfill. This occurrence challenged the gender expectations because Enkidu was practically Gilgamesh’s first love and true companion. Later in the VII tablet, when Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh had experienced his first encounter with heartbreak, showing that he genuinely cared for someone other than himself, which was something that was not the case at the beginning of the epic. So much so that after after Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh realized he could die as well and went back to his selfish ways and wanted to search for someone that could give him immortality.
On the other hand, in The Story of the Grandmother , one of many versions of the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood,” reflects how girls/women are prey to men. They are looked at as helpless and easy to take advantage of in this version of the late tale. The beginning of this tale instantly shows the superiority men believe they have over female figures. As the little girl begins her journey to deliver milk and bread to her grandmother, she crosses paths with the big bad wolf. The wolf simply questions which path the little red riding hood would take in order to arrive at her grandmothers. The wolf chooses to take the opposite and shorter path than the little girl in order to kill her grandmother before the little girl arrives. Upon arrival, the wolf proclaims, Take your clothes off, my child, and come into bed with me& throw it into the fire, my child, you won’t be needing it anymore and repeated this instruction multiple times as a form of manipulation to get the child into the bed (The Story of the Grandmother, pg 10). This instruction by the wolf symbolizes the sexual innuendos included in this story. The wolf repeats his order of the girl to throw her belongings in the fire in hopes of manipulating her to get into bed with him. Per lecture videos, on the Little Red Riding Hood , this version is one of the most vulgar and disturbing stories told and in both versions the girl is responsible for what happens to her in the end. Luckily, by the end of this story, the little girl manages to escape from the manipulative hold of the wolf. The escape of the little red riding hood projects the strength red riding hood had despite the gender norm of women being perceived as weak. My argument for this is that, even as a child, Little Red Riding Hood was blamed for her curiosity and used for the wolfs pleasure because she was portrayed as impotent and defenseless. Even the author of Little Red Riding Hood stated, Little Red Riding Hood was my first love. I felt that if I could have married Little Red Riding Hood, I should have known perfect bliss (Carey). This brings me to my next point that this fairy tale played as a fantasy for most men because the authors of most of the versions are male and the protagonist is almost always a pretty little girl (Little Red Riding Hood lecture). Because Red Riding Hood always serves as an innocent little girl, it portrays the idea that women are naive and can be taken advantage of by any man that chooses to manipulate someone inferior to them.
The gender roles and sexuality seen in both The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Story of the Grandmother includes similarities as well as differences between the two. In the story of Gilgamesh, the men hold more power over women excluding Shamhat considering she domesticated Enkidu and made him feel lost with nature as well as his masculinity. In The Story of the Grandmother, the wolf killing the grandmother and the attempt to reel the Red Riding Hood into her bed supports the thought of men gaining more power over women or female figures. The little Red Riding Hood escaping from the wolf at the end of the tale depicts the popular feeling of women having less strength or courage than a man. Taking both of these texts into consideration, it is clear that, though women are perceived to have no important role in the societies that they are in, they are still heavily depended on, not respected or appreciated in the slightest and do not get the praise and recognition that they so truly deserve. Though these texts were written long ago, the same standards still hold true to this day. Women have come such a long way to gain the respect of those who consider themselves superior and better than the opposite gender . We fight a never ending fight and we always end up being the ones that are looked over and underestimated. In conclusion, both texts provide a clear understanding of the stereotypical characteristics that both women and men are expected to uphold in their society.
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