The Weak Woman

The Weak Woman

Webster’s dictionary defines the word weak in many ways. However, the definition used by the storyteller in the story of the Widow of Ephesus is one denoting a deficit in intelligence, judgment, and lacking moral strength or force of character. This is the way he describes the main character in his story and women in general. The idea that women are so feeble in body and in mind is a sexist viewpoint that should be scorned upon by readers today.
Written by Gaius Petronius in the First Century of our common era, “The Widow of Ephesus” was a tale told to the author while traveling. The authenticity of it is unknown but was originally told in humor to calm and entertain a crew of seamen on a ship. The creator of the story is a man named Eumolpus, and he apparently was attempting to gain ground with his argument that women were impetuous in love and could not resist a handsome man, even to the point of forgetting their families to have an affair...