The Issue of Gender Identity

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Literature Humanity
The issue of gender identity has become prominent during the 20th century, and various representations have come up in the process. A wide array of classic era literature such as Oresteia, Aeneid, and Metamorphoses can provide new insights about gender roles, which are also being influenced by the political, social, and cultural circumstances at the time. The characters will reveal more about stereotypical behavior and gender roles and also the expectations (Marshall 68). This analysis will cover how normative behavior and gender roles are depicted in the three works, and it will also include the differences and similarities in regards to the representation of the characters.
The theme of gender roles was an important topic during the Greek period. The works by Greeks, such as Oresteia, written in 458 B.C. by Aeschylus, is a tragic trilogy regarding the curse that befell the house of Atreus and the succeeding wrath of the gods and acts of vengeance (Ziolkowski 549). The gender roles are apparent in the play via conflicts between the make ad female characters as well as their gendered representations. For example, Clytemnestra is viewed as distaste since she has a masculine and robust persona (Marshall 69). Men had more authority in the community, and the opportunities for the women differed significantly in the different communities. This is comparable to both Ovid’s Metamorphosis and Virgil’s Aeneid, whereby men have the freedom to travel where they like, but this was not an option for women. For instance, In the Aeneid, Creusa informs Aeneas that he will get another wife (Weiner 42). Males are presented as more relevant and with better prospects in the society. When Neptune raped Caenis, she reasons that the solution to the issue is her gender (Weiner 42). Since then, she wishes to transform into a male so that she does not have to be a victim again. Essentially her wishes summarize how women are perceived in the Aeneid, Metamorphosis, and the Oresteia. All three sources have a common aspect whereby the female characters are used to reinforce and endorse patriarchal ideology and masculine values.
A contrasting aspect of Ovid’s Metamorphoses is that it illustrates the fear of mal...