Gilgamesh: Tablets 7 & 8

Enkidu's grief after Gilgamesh's death is very apparent, asking the city to mourn for him. A sentence in tablet 8 that called my attention was when it said "It is Enkidu, the companion, whom I weep for, weeping for him as if I were a woman." (page 44) Gilgamesh compares his grief to that of a woman when a loved one passes away. A woman might show her grief in a more emotional way such a crying and displaying it in public. The comparison Gilgamesh made was what I found interesting about it. This sows their evident bond as brothers and even though Enkidu always seemed to be the most under-appreciated, for being a man of the wild and for not belonging to the city, it is obvious that Gilgamesh cared about him. I think Enkidu's role in the story could've been a lot bigger, but to me, his death is the only way Gilgamesh could learn to be on his own, without Enkidu's expertise. But it was so sudden for Enkidu to die, and even more so when it's said that his death was just destiny. It was just supposed to happen and there was nothing that Gilgamesh could do to stop it. The dreams just foretold it. Which must have made it 10 times more difficult for both Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Gilgamesh, perhaps, fearing for his own death.