Gilgamesh, Sundiata and Oedipus Rex

The texts elucidate the aspects of gender expectations and sexuality, which tend to define the positions of men and women in these societies. The epic stories use both male and female characters to build the theme of gender roles, which is identified through the characters' interactions and events in different scenes. The authors in Gilgamesh, Sundiata, and Oedipus Rex view women as men’s helpers who are confined in simple household roles and achieves status and power by connecting to men through marriage and following predetermined societal judgments and rules.

These societies recognize and appreciate women’s roles after marriage since they are attached to men. In a broader sense, women have to marry to commence their roles of giving birth and completing household roles including taking care of the men and children. Women are not supposed to live independently thus have to entirely depend on men. For instance, Oedipus is worried because he is uncertain whether his daughters will get married. He believes that the unmarried daughters will encounter numerous challenges including a blockage from going to events and festivals. However, women in these epic stories are sex objects to give men pleasures and satisfy their sexual urges, which seem to be the reason the stories, emphasize marriage. Irrespective of these women getting married, they are incapacitated to hold formal positions and make crucial decisions.

Generally, the epics display masculine societies, where women execute roles that require less power. Although they are the goddesses, they do have less power, and men hold powerful positions and are the strongest in the stories. As mentioned earlier women's power to influence events is directly attached to men and without men, they are rendered powerless. They are referred to as the goddesses because the idea of empowering women is challenged and thus there must be gods who are supreme than them. For instance, Gilgamesh was a man and king who held all the powers and could do whatever he wanted with any woman in the society. Similarly, Sundiata has a patriarchal culture, which treats women unequally, and has few rights and powers compared to their male counterparts. Men create women's lives and are dependent hence, men can determine the amount of power they experience. Additionally, society's judgments and rules control these women thus determining the power they experience, not only in crucial societal matters but also in personal life. This shows that although women contribute to society, they have little influence and power compared to men.

In conclusion, women’s roles are attached to men, where they get married, give birth, and satisfy men’s sexual urges. Women must primarily depend on men for survival. Men and societal judgments and rules tend to influence the amount of power women hold and experience.