Women In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

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In the time of The Epic of Gilgamesh, around 2000 BC, women were not respected, or acknowledged for things other than pleasure, household issues, or things which men were too lazy to accomplish. This issue was presented many times throughout the novel as some men tended to be rash and stubborn, only following their own desires. Gilgamesh, being a young king, was very rash in his decisions and indeed followed what he desired. Had the King ever decided to listen to words of wisdom from a woman, rather than pushing them aside to pursue what he wanted; he would have saved himself from wasted time and a failed journey.
Women with power are often more respected than those which did not have power as they possibly had some sort of influence; Shamhat, …show more content…

Had the rash and strong-headed Gilgamesh decided to listen to the wise woman in the first place, he would not have gone and completed a perilous journey for nothing. As he arrives home, Gilgamesh tell the boat driver “O Ur-shanabi, climb Uruk’s wall and walk back and forth/ Survey its foundations, examine the brickwork/ Were its bricks not fired in an oven/ Did the Seven Sages not lay its foundations?” (XI 323-326). This being one of the last stanzas, the reader may notice that this is a critical turning point in Gilgamesh’s life when he appreciates his city and the hard work put into building it up. He realizes that this is the life he will live, governing his city as a wise ruler, just as Shiduri had told him to return to his …show more content…

Women, wives, daughters all follow the will of the men, husbands and kings. As Gilgamesh is dying he begins to build his tomb in the Euphrates. The king’s household will go to the Netherworld with him. These men actually kill off their families “His beloved wife, his beloved child, his beloved senior wife and junior wife, his beloved minstrel…were laid down in their places, as if attending a palace-review in the midst of Uruk” (N3 1-N3 7). The “beloved child” as quoted was most likely a girl, as the men were left to carry on the bloodline. The girls had no use as they would just need to be married off, they could never carry on the King’s

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