Clytemnestra
Drama and theatre in the ancient Greek world expresses the communities’ concerns in regards to their ambitions, fears, hope and their deepest sympathy. In Greek drama, playwrights often included pivotal female roles, despite the fact that the cast was strictly male. The role of women in ancient Greek life is deemed irrelevant compared to that of Greek men, however, in tragedies, women are often written as major characters, revealing important insights on the perceptions and treatment of women in society. For a woman to possess qualities such as leadership and strength is not typical, in fact it is seen as masculine and un-ladylike. Many Greek plays contain several complex female characters; Aeschylus is a playwright whom incorporates a very complex female character, Clytemnestra in his play Agamemnon. Although Clytemnestra is one of the most recognizable and noted female villains due to her involvement in the murder of her husband and his concubine, one can argue that her actions are justifiable. Whether her vengeful actions are triggered by the death of her daughter Iphigenia, her love for Aegisthus or the jealousy of her husbands mistress Cassandra, either is motive enough to make her turn to evil.
Clytemnestra takes full responsibility for her husbands’ murder, but quickly changes her plea when the chorus mentions the Daimons. At this point, Clytemnestra sees herself not as “the wife of Agamemnon” (1497) but as the personification of an ancestral curse, even though she does not share in this evil heredity. Clytemnestra knows that vengeance of the murder of Iphigenia does not justify her actions and becomes afraid that there will be more bloodshed by claiming the embodiment of the Daimon. She concludes her trial with a plea to bargain with the ancestral curse and stating that she will “seal my oath with the spirit in the house: I will endure all things as they stand now, hard though it be. Hereafter let him go forth to make bleed with death and guilt the houses of other.(1567-1571)” This settlement is pointless, since Aegisthus shares this evil heredity and will remain in the House of Atreus; he is a symbol of its futility. Clytemnestra argues that it is her husband’s absence and infidelities that drives her to fall in love with Aegisthus. She confirms to the chorus that her confidence is not only justice for the murder of Iphigenia, but her love for Aegisthus when she states “yet Aegisthus makes the fire shine on my hearth.” (1433) Aegisthus is a substitute of Agamemnon’s love, a man who she can dominate as a “tool for her masculine will”2 since he is addressed as a ‘woman’ by the Chorus at the end of the play (1625). The return of Agamemnon is a threat to Clytemnestra’s power; however, his return is eagerly anticipated because it gives her the opportunity to seek revenge and to exercise her superiority. The mention of Aegisthus leads Clytemnestra to justify the murder of Agamemnon and Cassandra due to Agamemnon’s in
Some topics in this essay:
Elders Argo,
Agamemnon Clytemnestra,
,
Cassandra Agamemnon,
Iphigenia Clytemnestra,
Daimons Clytemnestra,
House Atreus,
Wrath Fury,
Elders Argos,
Agamemnon Cassandra,
love aegisthus,
iphigenia love,
iphigenia love aegisthus,
elders argo,
aegisthus jealousy,
murder iphigenia,
daughter iphigenia,
argue actions justifiable,
recognizable noted,
agamemnon clytemnestra,
noted female,
play agamemnon,
daughter iphigenia love,
noted female villains,
recognizable noted female,
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Approximate Word count = 1190
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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