Women, like foxes, show beauty on the outside but work cunningly on the inside. The Odyssey incorporates many beautiful and intelligent women like these. The Odyssey begins with Odysseus getting lost on his way home from the Trojan War. He must travel the seas to overcome many obstacles including angry Olympians and the giant one-eyed Cyclops. Along with these tribulations, a series of Machiavellian women try to create havoc to prevent him from enjoying the pleasures of home. In the Odyssey, Homer portrays women as cunning, easily courted, and annoying creatures. A cunning woman uses her tools to get what she wants. Penelope exemplifies cunning by delaying her choice of suitors through deception. She declares to her suitors that she will choose a husband, but only after she has finished weaving her web. Every night he “works at the great net […] to unravel it by torchlight” (Homer 18). Penelope uses her tool of wisdom and knowledge to remain faithful to Odysseus. Homer transforms Penelope into a mischievous and cunning woman who has the ability to deceive adult men for her own benefit. By attributing these qualities to Penelope, he portrays the image of women as creatures who only use their insidious ideas to get out of situations they do not conform to. On top of that, Homer portrays Circe as this deceiving goddess who turns men into animals. When Odysseus and his men reach Circe's island, she feeds Odysseus' men with food containing “dangerous drugs […] to make them forget” their beloved home (125). The men then turn into pigs, his pigs. Circe uses her divine magical tool to use them for her own profit. He keeps all his animals, men, as his pets. Homer tells readers that, figuratively, women use wiles (drugs) toMencia......middle of paper......, Homer sees women as troublesome and troublesome inhabitants of the earth. Throughout the Odyssey, the author outlines the female characters as existing who have a sharpness of mind, fragility in the heart, but deviousness in the soul. The world needs to know because Homer's interpretation of women contains some truth. Women need to see that they have some of the flaws he points out. This story should serve as a reflection for every woman on this earth. While not all women are cunning-minded, every woman may have one of the characteristics identified by Homer. This very essay should be shared among everyone to reveal some of the flaws that women tend to have. In addition to disclosure, however, everyone must act and improve. Works Cited Homer, W.H.D. Rouse, and Deborah Steiner. The Odyssey. New York: Signet Classics, 2007. Print.