Research Paper on:
Hesiod's The Works and Days, Theogony and Gender Conflict

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
However, in his conflicts between the entities he presents the reader with gender conflicts as well. Women are often brought into play in very subtle, yet very powerful, ways in  order to perhaps bring more excitement and chaos to the epics. This is certainly the case with "Theogony" and "The Works and Days." In the following paper we examine each  epic separately, discussing the gender conflicts within. The paper then finishes up with a discussion of the two. The Works and Days What one may first note in  this epic poem is how the feminine focus is clearly put upon tragedy and struggle. It is called strife and Hesiods poem states that there are two kinds, both feminine  in nature it would seem. The poem claims, "There is one you could like when you understand her. The other is hateful" (Hesiod The Works and Days 12-13). One builds  warfare and "no man loves her" (Hesiod The Works and Days 15). The other, "she is far kinder. She pushes the shiftless man to work, for all his laziness" (Hesiod  The Works and Days 19-20). A bit later in the epic poem the nature of femininity is indicated as something that has essentially wreaked havoc on men as  we note in the following: "Since before this time the races of men had been living on earth free from all evils, free from laborious work, and free from all  wearing sicknesses that bring their fates down on men [for men grow old suddenly in the midst of misfortune]; but the woman, with her hands lifting away the lid from  the great jar scattered its contents, and her design was sad troubles for mankind" (Hesiod The Works and Days 90-94). With the two simple illustrations presented, illustrations that do