Jess Zimmerman’s essay “Voracious” acts as a commentary on both the personal and societal effects of patriarchal expectations of women. The essay begins with Zimmerman recounting how, for the longest time, she was convinced that she hated romance and therefore did not want a proposal from her now ex-husband. As the essay progresses, she begins to realize that her aversion to romantic gestures was not just a trait of hers, but a way of shrinking herself to be more palatable for society. She then goes on to examine the different ways in which she and other women have tried to make themselves seem less needy. Zimmerman uses several rhetorical devices in this essay, including metaphors and anecdotes, to emphasize the main idea that women are expected to make themselves smaller in various spheres of their lives.

The technique that is most present in Zimmerman’s essay is the use of metaphor depicting women’s hunger. The author references the Greek myth of Scylla and Charybdis to represent how society views women who do not minimize their needs or their hunger. She recounts how Odysseus is warned by Circe that, to leave her island, he must face one of two beasts: Scylla, who snatches men from their ships to eat them, or Charybdis, whose hunger is so terrible that she can swallow the sea whole. Zimmerman refers to these mythical beings to represent how hunger is a bad thing for women, how their needs should never be so exacting that they can be considered voracious. There is a contrast here between the characters of Odysseus and Charybdis; Odysseus has just spent a year on Circe’s Island enjoying unlimited amounts of food and sex. However, he is never described as voracious, or even hungry. While Charybdis’ appetite paints her as a monster, this does not seem to be the case for Odysseus, who is the hero of the epic named after him. Charybdis’ hunger is of the same magnitude, but she consumes boats rather than earthly pleasures. One could, of course, argue that her hunger is more devastating considering the fact that she eats men. However, this does not change the fact that the vocabulary used for both characters is extremely different and paints her as much more monstrous, despite Odysseus being the one who was previously punished by Circe for his overconsumption. There is also an important comparison between Scylla and Charybdis, who are both painted as hungry women, but of differing magnitudes. When Circe warns Odysseus, she advises him to “hug the Scylla side, and take your losses” because a confrontation with Charybdis would end with his boat swallowed (Zimmerman 99). Although Scylla is a hungry woman, there is a limit to the extent of her consumption; her limits are known and almost controllable. On the other hand, Charybdis’ hunger shows no mercy; she is powerful and cannot be regulated. Zimmerman summarizes the main idea of this metaphor when she states that the story teaches that “(i)f you must choose, even a vicious woman is better than a hungry one” (99). For Odysseus, and for all men who seek to gain power over a woman, knowing how far she is willing to go is crucial, as it offers the potential to “manage” her.

Zimmerman also employs anecdotes to further the main idea of her essay. A particularly powerful one that she includes is a description of a YouTube video that she likes, in which a baby named Madison tries cake for the first time. Zimmerman explains that the raw, unabashed reaction of joy that this baby has, plunging her face into the cake, prompts her to have a “throat-full-of-needles laugh that, on a more hormonal day, might be a sob” as she imagines the ways in which Madison will shrink herself at different stages of her life (102). The fashion in which the baby grabs this cake is unapologetic; she has no concept of societal expectations for her to take less, want less. Zimmerman explains how brief this stage will be, how by her teenage years, she will try to be skinnier and stop expressing her opinions loudly. Finally, she imagines how Madison could flourish if her hunger were not restricted or controlled, and states that “maybe the hunger is nothing to fear” (102). Women taking more is not being greedy, it is allowing themselves to embrace what they need to grow, to fill up space. The plant that is given unlimited water, sunlight, and space will expand to be large and fruitful, and to satisfy others with its spoils. We cannot expect the same from another plant that we place in a small pot, rarely water, and leave in the dark to die.

“Voracious” is a testament to how women feel the effects of the expectations that society has placed on them. Zimmerman explores in detail the various ways in which women’s needs are expected to be pushed aside, whether they are physical or emotional. The essay encourages readers, especially women, to embrace their appetites as Zimmerman has and to question if they are being their true self or simply a minimized version of it.

Work Cited

Zimmerman, Jess. “Voracious.” English 101: Introduction to College English Course Pack, edited by Gina Granter, Dawson College, 2025, pp. 99-106.