WOMEN WITHOUT AGENCY

The same cannot be said for the women in Miller’s focused retelling of The Iliad. First of note is the conceiving of the half-divine hero himself. Consistent with the classic version of the myth, Achilles’ father, Peleus, is granted “permission” to Thetis, the hero’s divine mother, by other gods, and their marriage and son comes about as the result of her rape by Peleus. When she does reappear or is spoken of by adjacent characters, she’s depicted as cold, unloving, even disdainful. As said by Alexandra Roumbas Goldstein on the UK feminist blog, The F Word, just after the book’s release,

Calling it a ‘ravishment’ and describing Peleus’ cleverness and Thetis’ disdain for mortals—as if that was her only objection—are undoubtedly true to Patroclus’ dreamy tones, but it makes for an uncomfortable reading.

Another prominent female character, Briseis, is regarded as property—a status symbol—by the men surrounding her during the battle of Troy. First captured by Achilles during the conflict, she’s later taken and her assault eagerly threatened for the single intent of wounding Achille’s pride, and he doesn’t protest, thinking is she were to be assaulted the consequences would be in his favor. Briseis’ thoughts and feelings on the matter are irrelevant. Even Helen, the woman whose questionable abduction spurs the war, is only given the illusion of agency in the beginning of the novel when she chooses which of the suitors present she’ll marry; a solution presented by Odysseus for the sake of peace. It then stands to reason that “female agency only appears to impact the novel’s events—in the end, any power that women have is only a convenient tool that allows men and gods to pull hidden strings” (“Gender”).