In the book both Calypso and Circe are depicted as seductresses who use their feminine charms to lure and divert Odysseus from his journey home. They are symbolized by lovelorn and crazy women who trap and hold a man against his will for years to sleep with him without his consent or approval. Where Ulysses, equally guilty of the affair, is shown as a defenseless man, deceived and blinded by temptation. Even though he also uses deception to make them believe he has feelings for them, he is still the one who receives understanding and is not shown as dishonest but rather as a poor helpless man, which is not necessarily the case. It just shows how men and women are characterized differently for the same thing. Because he is a man, he can get away with seducing these women, and is even praised for his deceptions because he did it for his own gain, but when it is done by a woman, she is labeled and regarded as a woman.