In Aeschylus's The Oresteia, a key character is Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon and queen of Argos. In the first play she murders her husband for sacrificing their daughter Iphigenia. She had been planning her vengeance for 10 years while Agamemnon was away fighting Troy. She kills him and with her new lover Aigisthos, take over as new rulers of Argos. This is something that normally is not seen in Greek myth. She is very determined and strong willed in her goals. she is very different compared to the other women we see throughout the plays. For example in The Libation Bearers, Electra formulates a plan to kill Clytemnestra to avenge her father with Orestes, but Electra does not do much in executing the plan. She leaves everything up to Orestes while she watches from the sidelines. Wither that was a tactical move and leaving Orestes with the problems resulting from the murders such as the furies, or she just let the man take care of the physical fighting is up for debate. Clytemnestra on the other hand, took action and killed Agamemnon and Cassandra herself, rather than leaving the job to a man. Other characters think of her having manly qualities. At the beginning of Agamemnon, the watchman describes her as " a woman in passionate heart and man in strength of purpose." (Agamemnon 11). The watchman saying this proves that Clytemnestra is viewed of having both manly and womanly qualities. Clytemnestra also speaks like a man in some points throughout the book. She says "I stand here where I dealt the blow; my purpose was achieved". We don't really see other women speak like this throughout the plays. Clytemnestra knows she is different than the other woman around her. She doesn't think of her self as a "witless woman". Her goals are also very different from what most woman are responsible for in this time. A woman's duties were to stay at home and take care of the children. Clytemnestra did not really care for two of her three chidden. She sent Orestes away, and rarely acknowledged Electra. The only child she really seemed to care for was Iphigenia. Rather than focusing on the normal things women do, Clytemnestra wanted power. She didn't just kill Agamemnon for her daughter, she also wanted to become the head ruler of Argos. Clytemnestra sought power and wanted to prove that she was better than others around her. Her new husband Aigisthos did not become the head ruler of Argos, she did. Her will to fight and determination is greater than any other character in the story, man or woman. Clytemnestra is easily my favorite character through out the three plays. She is far more complex than the characters around her. Clytemnestra has interesting goals and a compelling reason for wanting to achieve them. Clytemnestra shatters all the rules and regulations that her society set up for her and other women. Even when she meet her end at the hand of her son Orestes, she was breaking down the gender roles the Greeks employed.
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AuthorZach Knackstedt Archives
November 2021
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