re: Nyong'o: "Very little time in the Odyssey book is spent in the perspective of a woman"

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OK. So Helen’s beauty sparks a war.

Athena is a strategic goddess guiding Odysseus.

Penelope embodies clever loyalty.

Circe turns men into pigs, which frankly is still the most realistic female character arc in literature.

Calypso traps the hero on an island for seven years.

Cassandra can literally see the future but nobody listens, making her the first woman in recorded history to experience a meeting.

The Sirens weaponize music.

Nausicaa saves Odysseus when he washes up naked and useless.

Andromache gives one of the most devastating anti-war speeches in the Iliad.

Hecuba is basically the emotional wreckage of empire in human form.

Aphrodite starts half the problems in Western civilization by being hot and petty.

Hera is running divine opposition research.

Thetis gets Zeus involved because Achilles is having a workplace dispute.

But apart from Helen, Athena, Penelope, Circe, Calypso, Cassandra, the Sirens, Nausicaa, Andromache, Hecuba, Aphrodite, Hera, and Thetis...

WHAT HAS HOMER EVER DONE TO GIVE FEMALE CHARACTERS ATTENTION?

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Think that says a little more about you than her.

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"When you read the Iliad and the Odyssey, very little time is spent from the perspective of the women. It's told from a very masculine side of things. The Odyssey takes a lot of time to really consider things from the female perspective.

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Shows you to be someone of limited imagination.

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He's just pointing out that she's wrong. You're the one who seems upset about it.

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Yale arts degree grad had never even heard of The Odyssey before but now she’s lecturing Homer?

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This is Rachel Zegler territory. Cope.

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Go read it again.

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Athena appears throughout the story. She's the one who praises Odysseus and helps him to succeed.

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I don't think it really is out of context, seeing as where her head is at, as well as so many of her peers. Some instances are more aggressive than others, but it's the same message over and over.

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How much of the odyssey is spent in the perspective of a woman?

Here's a rough breakdown:

Direct female perspective

There are relatively few passages where the narrator fully adopts a woman's internal point of view in the modern literary sense. Ancient Greek epics generally don't stay inside a character's mind for long. However, several women receive substantial narrative focus:

Penelope: ~8–12% of the poem
She appears throughout the second half.
We see her conversations, grief, cleverness, and famous strategy of weaving and unweaving the shroud.
She drives much of the suspense once Odysseus returns to Ithaca.
Nausicaa: ~3–4%
Books 6–8 spend considerable time on her meeting with the shipwrecked Odysseus.
The narrative follows her activities before Odysseus appears.
Circe and Calypso: ~4–5% combined
While much of their story is seen through Odysseus, the poem gives both women extended dialogue and motivations.
Other notable female-centered sections

Several other women have memorable scenes:

Athena (arguably the poem's second most important character)
Arete
Eurycleia
Helen

These scenes often revolve around their decisions, advice, or recognition of Odysseus.

Overall estimate

If you include episodes where a woman is the primary focus of the action or dialogue, roughly 20–30% of the poem is centered on female characters. If you're asking specifically about passages told from a woman's perspective or where her concerns dominate the narrative, it's closer to 15–20%.

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