A portrayel of women in the or
A portrayel of women in the orIn The Oresteia, Aeschylus advocates the importance of the male role in society over that of the female. The entire trilogy can be seen as a subtle proclamation of the superiority of men over women. Yet, the women create the real interest in the plays. Their characters are the impetus that makes everything occur.
The most complex and compelling character in the three plays is Clytaemnestra. Clytaemnestra is consumed with thoughts of revenge. She seeks vengeance on Agamemnon for the loss of their daughter, Iphigeneia whose life was forfeited in order to appease the goddess Artemis so that Agamemnon's troops would be allowed passage to the Trojan shore. Clytaemnestra displays more intelligence than any other character in The Oresteia in the way she manipulates the events leading up to Agamemnon's execution in the play "Agamemnon." Her scheming ways and clever word play make her intimidating in the eyes of the people of Argos. She is looked upon with revulsion because of the manly way she acts. The chorus leader states in line 35 "spoken like a man, my lady, loyal, full of self-command." (Aeschylus 116). Odysseus of the quick wits was held in high esteem for such craftiness, yet intelligence and wit, while exulted in a man, are threatening characteristics in a woman. In the kingdom, Clytaemnestra has been having an open affair with Aegisthus. The chorus, who acts as the voice of the common man, and therefore the voice of morality, condemn her for this affair even though it is common practice for men in ancient Greece to have many extramarital affairs themselves. In this way Aeschylus condones the double-standards thrust upon the women of the time, but he also, perhaps unwittingly, sets up Clytaemnestra as the antagonist of the plays. In breaking away from the traditional female role, she sets up the scenario for the entire story to unfold. Clytaemnestra is thus the driving force behind the conflicts of the trilogy for it is her actions that spark the debate between the Furies and Apollo over whether or not Orestes is just in committing matricide.
Where as Clytaemnestra breaks with female tradition, Electra is the preserver of the status quo. Because Clytaemnestra is not motherly, Electra who has already lost her father to the depths of Hades, loses her mother to that one's all-consuming hate of Agamemnon as well. And so she seeks revenge towards her mother, the cause of all her misery in taking away the only family she ever had. She desperately awaits the arrival of her brother, Orestes, who becomes the father figure she lost when Agamemnon was murdered. She...
To view the complete essay, you be registered.