Table of Contents
This is an introduction.
The Epic of Gilgamesh features female roles
In conclusion,
Bibliography
Beginning
The Epic of Gilgamesh has a few female characters. However, they play a pivotal role in the story. They control the story through their roles as mothers and harlots. The tale’s female characters also have the ability to influence the decisions of the male characters. Their ability to change the roles of the males is what makes them so central.
The Epic of Gilgamesh’s female roles are secondary. This could be argued to make it easier for Enkidu and Gilgamesh to assume their higher-ranking roles. Rivkah Harri supports this view. Rivkah says that women can only be viewed positively if they support Gilgamesh, Enkidu, or when they care for their mothers. This argument is supported most strongly by Priestess Shamhat’s role as a harlot. Her primary role in Enkidu’s life is to tempt him from his wild ways by using her sexuality. His father says to his son that he will see her naked and when he feels her calling he will hug her. The wild beasts will then reject him. Shamhat’s sexuality can be used by a male to tame another man. It suggests that Shamhat is a stage actor and not a fully realized character. Adrien Janis Bledstein says that Enkidu’s harlot is an actor who plays multiple roles. She can be a wise counselor, a mother, and a servant. The woman is then free to fulfill her male wishes. She is instrumental in Enkidu’s development towards civilized living. This leads to him looking for Gilgamesh to help him and eventually becoming his friend. Her role is over once her service is done. It’s reflective of her life as a prostitute where she fulfills the sexual desires of men without attachments. It is possible to argue that Enkidu uses her sexuality and the feminine virtues of her to help men. Gilgamesh, with the exception of the Goddess Ishtar, is supported by all but one other than her. This view could be supported by the argument that Utanapishtims wife may also serve as a way to make way for a male role. Gilgamesh was enthralled by her husband’s actions. He revealed the location of a rejuvenating plant to her. She asked him, “Gilgamesh has come here worn out. How can we help him get back to our country?” As Gilgamesh seeks immortality, Gilgamesh is supported once more by a female character. She helps him find the location of the youth-restoring plant. Her identity is kept secret and her role is seen as an extension of her husband’s, again making her secondary. You can also see that it reflects her role. However, this could be argued to be only an adjunct to her husband’s. John R. Maier echoes this view. He states that “wives” are, in fact, anonymous, and are identified only by their husbands. You could also argue that Utanapishtim uses his spouse to teach Gilgamesh a lesson. He orders his wife to bake loaves of bread each day and place it beside him. She assists her husband here, and not in a primary role.
But, I think it is fair to say that the roles of the female characters in The Epic of Gilgamesh are not secondary. While their roles may be secondary to the male characters, they are still central characters. Shamhat’s role is to tame Enkidu and set him on his path towards Gilgamesh. Enkidu became civilized after Shamhat transformed him from feral to human. The verb “forgotten”, shows Enkidu’s effect on Shamhat. Shamhat took Enkidu away from his past life and gave him a new beginning. His father told the trapper that his daughter’s woman power would overpower him, emphasizing the superiority of women over men. Shamhat fulfills two roles. She acts as both a wife and mother, teaching Enkidu the way of civilized man. Two roles within one woman can tell us a lot about Mesopotamian women’s attitudes. This suggests that women had many roles and there wasn’t one. It is indicative of a society that revered Goddesses as much as Gods. There was also a lot of prostitution. Shamhat tells him to eat bread because it is the staff for life. He also advises him to drink wine as it is the custom in the land. This scene recalls a mother teaching her child table manners. Stephen Mitchell claims that Shamhat’s success in controlling Enkidu is greater than any male character in the story. Instead of thinking of her as Enkidu’s paving stone, she can be seen as Enkidu’s creator and originator, and thus a central, almost godlike, character. She is at The Epic of Gilgamesh’s center.
She also plays the Mesopotamian role of mothering children. Enkidu’s dependence on Shamhat for his job is reminiscent to a child relying on its mother. Enkidu and Gilgamesh, both great male characters, could not succeed without the support of a mother or woman. Ninsun is Gilgamesh’s mother. She is also his biological mother. She plays an important role in Gilgamesh’s life. Her interpretation of Gilgamesh’s dreams is that he will make a friend. He is his brave friend who saves his friend when he is in need. Enkidu searches for Gilgamesh to confirm this interpretation. Ninsun’s words also play a role in Enkidu seeking Gilgamesh out. Gilgamesh responds to Enkidu by saying, “he will befriend and counsel you.” She helps make their friendship a reality by foreshadowing it.
Utanapishtim is also Utanapishtims wife. It is she who ultimately decides to help Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh learns valuable lessons from her compassion for Gilgamesh and can also see how she has embraced his mortality. Her positive disposition seems to be a reflection of her warm-hearted husband. She is yet another example where females have great influence on males. She makes the ultimate decision, not her husbands. He even repeated almost the exact words she spoke to Gilgamesh, “What shall I give to you to take back to your country?” This shows how easily she can bend her husband’s will by speaking just a few words. Her control over her husband’s behavior is subtle. He orders her to make bread, and she follows his orders. But she uses her mild, empathetic nature and pleads with her husband for pity. He agrees almost immediately. She makes fun of her husband’s mocking of Gilgamesh, and she tells him to “touch that man to wake him,” so that he might return to peace. Utanapishtim finally consents to her wife’s request. She is a key character in the story because of her kindness towards Gilgamesh.
The Epic of Gilgamesh also features central roles for female characters through their wisdom, knowledge, and intelligence. Joseph Campbell made a comment about ancient mythology’s female characters, saying that “Woman in the picture language mythology represents the whole of what is possible to know.” The hero is one who learns. The male hero is the one who discovers what the female knows. Siduri, a tavernkeeper, is the most prominent example. She is a key character in the story as she foreshadows Gilgamesh’s failure to attain immortality. She informs him that he will never find the life he is seeking, as God created him and gave him death. She tells him, “Temporary mortal existence” is the fate of all men. She conveys the message that humans cannot and should not hope to live forever. All men eventually will die. Death is as natural and inevitable as breathing. Similar to Shamhat and Ishtar, Siduri predicts how Gilgamesh will end up. This further reinforces the notion that the Epic of Gilgamesh’s women play a quasi-pioneerlike role. The male characters are simply following the path set for them by the females. Siduri’s advice is ignored and Gilgamesh suffers misfortune and suffering that eventually leads him to failure. His judgement is clearly inferior to Siduri’s. Siduri is similar to Utanapishtim’s character, telling Gilgamesh where to find Utanapishtim helps him progress in his quest. Another example of women helping men achieve their goals is this. They are not secondary characters or subordinate to males, but they are the driving force behind their actions.
This tale depicts women as wisdom, power, and temptation. Gilgamesh’s complete circle moment is made up of the women mentioned in this text. Gilgamesh’s quest for immortality is exemplified by Siduri meeting him after Enkidu’s funeral. He tells Siduri about his search and she asks him questions. She said, “When the gods created men, they allotted him death, but kept life for themselves.” These words reflect the wisdom of women as well as their encouragement. Siduri wants Gilgamesh, with these words, to see the goodness in his life and not flee from death. Despite Gilgamesh refusing to take her advice. However, she played the critical role of wisdom.
Ishtar, a strong female character, is an example of one who exerts her power over male characters. She is determined to defeat the male leads and not to help them, unlike the other female characters. Enkidu is the direct result of her actions. It shows her dominance over a primary characters and debuffs the possibility that she could be categorised as secondary. Gilgamesh refused Ishtar’s offer because he was afraid of her meeting the same fate. He also asks her, “Which of your lovers have you ever loved forever?” This suggests that she is a fickle woman who falls in and out easily with men. He also likens her to a “batteringram turned back from enemy,” a metaphor that refers to her tendency to punish her lovers when they get bored. This describes her powerful female character, highlighting her use of her power to dominate and eventually destroy men. She does more than support males. She plays a crucial role in the story, using this power to end Enkidu’s partnership with Gilgamesh and causing him to go on the quest for immortality. Shamhat serves as Enkidu’s giver, but Ishtar, on the other hand, is Enkidu’s ultimate destroyer. While Enkidu is clearly a key role, two strong female roles can be considered central to his existence.
Ishtar adopts the male virtue of devastation, rather than the other female characters from The Epic of Gilgamesh. Rivkah says that the goddess acts like a woman, proposing marriage, which he rejects. She then responds masculinely, seeking revenge. She actually says, “Come to Gilgamesh, be my bridegroom” (85), which is a traditional request made by men. This refutes the belief that women are just supporting or subordinate characters. Ishtar asks for marriage based upon her own desires, not those of any men. Ishtar is an example of how women can be equally aggressive characters as men. She successfully executes Gilgamesh’s punishment by killing his best friend. Ishtar plays the antagonist’s role and is one of the most important female characters in The Epic of Gilgamesh. Without her destructive actions, Gilgamesh’s and Enkidu’s trials would be a mockery. As she sends the Bull to Heaven down “to destroy Gilgamesh”, she ignites a fierce struggle between Gilgamesh und Enkidu.
The development of The Epic of Gilgamesh’s plot line is also influenced by the powerful female characters. Karen Nemet-Nejat asserts that the roles of Gilgamesh’s female characters are not important. They are vital in the way they advance the story. The story wouldn’t have happened without the actions of the female characters. Shamhat is the only reason why Enkidu would not have become civilized. Instead, it would remain the wild, primitive creature that we first see. Ishtar plans Enkidu’s demise, which is an important plot event that leads Gilgamesh, who becomes more aware of his mortality, to seek eternal life. The plot is created and acted upon by the women, who are also the creators. While it may seem that the male characters are the central focus of the story, this story is actually supported by the presence and contributions of females. The story would crumble without the female characters.
Conclusion. The Epic of Gilgamesh’s female characters have both small and central roles. Shamhat (and Ishtar) are key characters in The Epic of Gilgamesh’s plot. They also play the leading roles for the male characters. Their actions have far-reaching consequences that compensate for their absence from the story. The story shows women having great influence over their male counterparts. They can use their sexuality as a means to control their men while also using their mothering instincts to guide and teach them. The story’s central characters are made to change the actions and decisions of their male counterparts through sexual temptation and mothering. Ishtar, however, is made the central antagonist and acts as the destroyer for males. The story depicts males being destroyed and built up, with women at the heart of both.
Bibliography
BLEDSTEIN (1993) Feminist Companion to Judges. Sheffield, Continuum
Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces (2008) discusses the common characteristics of heroic figures and is published by Novato’s New World Library.
Rivkah Harris, Gender and Aging: The Gilgamesh Epic and Others, Norman, University of Oklahoma Press
MAIER John R. (1997) Gilgamesh. A Reader. Wauconda Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers MITCHELL Stephen (2006) Gilgamesh. A new English Version. London. Atria Books
NEMET NEJAT Karen (2014) Women in the Ancient Near East.
Karen NEMET NEJAT (1999), Women’s roles among Ancient Civilizations. Westport, Greenwood Press
The Epic of Gilgamesh, published in 1973 by Penguin UK, is an epic poem set in ancient Mesopotamia. It tells the story of Gilgamesh, a semi-divine king, and his adventures.
Rivkah H. Harris, Gender and Aging Mesopotamia: The Gilgamesh Epic and Others (Norman; University of Oklahoma Press), 2003), 120
