In book 5 of The Odyssey, Hermes visits Calypso to order her to free Odysseus. In the line 81-84 we see the grave effects that Odysseus entrapment has had on him. The imagery of Odysseus sitting alone on the beach and staring out at sea gives the reader an image of pain and suffering. The reader gets insight on Odysseus’s longing to be home and daydreams about the day that he can leave. Throughout book 5, Calypso’s island is described in a way that makes it seem almost like paradise and as though it is a beautiful, delicate island that anyone would enjoy staying at. In the chosen passage the sea is described as fruitless, alluding to Odysseus’s hopelessness and feeling that he will never be able to escape. The importance of this passage in terms of gender is that when one thinks of a typical man of this time they think of a warrior, a man with strength, intelligence, and perseverance, which are attributes typically found in Odysseus’s character, but here we see his typical masculine characteristics faltering. This ultimately shows that, unlike what was believed before, the ego and character of a man can be broken. 

In lines 362-364, we read that Odysseus is beginning to gain some of his resilience and makes a claim that tells the reader he can and will make it through anything to return home, but not too long after, in line 411-414 Odysseus gives up showing that his impenetrable masculinity has been defeated by the gods. At that point, the gods had sent a multitude of obstacles Odysseus’s way and he was ready to give up but Athena sent him a thought and he way able to escape the sea. I read this part of the book as though the author was telling the reader that even the strongest of men need help. Without the help of Athena Odysseus would have died, it also opens up the idea that women may also be more “useful” than previously thought. This passage gives credit to Athena and shows that women can have just as much wit and strength as men in dire situations. Throughout the whole story we also see the giving and motherly nature of women. Before Calypso releases Odysseus she takes care of him, “…On the fifth day Calypso let him go. She washed and dressed him in clothes that smelled of incense.” (pg 188 262-264) showing that the natural instincts of a woman are to take care of someone, because even though she didn’t want to let him go, Calypso still took the time to care for Odysseus and made sure he was fed and clothed before his journey home. I feel that the author does this to counteract Calypso’s previous actions, before she was a monster who trapped Odysseus but now she is caring for him as a mother would. The countering actions between men and women in this book causes one to question society’s views on men and women and if their characters are more intertwined than one was brought up to believe.

In conclusion book 5 sheds light on the similarities and natural instincts of men and women through Odysseus’s faltering of character, Athena’s quick thinking to save Odysseus, and Calypso’s nurturing of Odysseus yet questions the accuracy of preconceived notions of men and women. Men and women are more alike than we may believe and this book perfectly highlights this theory by using subtle and noisy instances.