The Oresteia trilogy was written by Aeschylus and includes three progressive plays Agamemnon , The Libation Bearers and The Eumenides . Analysis of the events that take place throughout the three plays demonstrate the issues of gender and the existent male and female conflict among the various characters. One can identify the continued shift of power form one gender to the other throughout the plays and in the end; the place of each gender is well established. Right from the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra to Orestes’ acquittal, it is easy to recognize how the two genders are at constant war, with one trying to establish its dominance over the other. It is therefore necessary to identify male and female conflict and how it progresses throughout the plays and what it means for each of the genders.
Gender conflict is evident right from the first play Agamemnon and it mainly focuses on Clytemnestra and her decision to murder her husband, who is also the king, Agamemnon. It is interesting how a strong female individual such as Clytemnestra manages to establish her place among men in an ancient patriarchal society such as ancient Greece. One would expect that women during such a time are not accorded any power and need to remain under the authority of men. However, Agamemnon accords women a slightly higher place in society than men through the murder of a king by his queen. Clytemnestra stands her ground and further describes to the choir how she executes her plan and from it, one can identify how the plan was without flaws and would have worked from the beginning. In the play Clytemnestra states I fenced him in with nets too high to leap. So long I've planned this dénouement of our feud, and now at last we are come to it today. So I stand as I struck him, and straddle my handiwork. I did it like this—and why should I deny it? So he could neither run nor fight for his life ( Agamemnon 1380). Here she demonstrates the confidence she had in her plan and skills to execute it. It demonstrates how the play depicts her as brilliant and resourceful, characteristics that were never accorded to women in societies such as that in Ancient Greece.
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Clytemnestra demonstrates the victory for the female gender as she achieves her plans while fighting for other women such as her daughter. She understands how her child was viewed as nothing by her father and was killed in a matter of seconds and her revenger is further fueled by the thought of her daughter’s death. She states “Yes, now your judgement’s exile from my home, now you sentence me to the public curse. Wise judges! Where were you when this man killed? Where were you when, like any lamb from the flock, he picked his own daughter to sacrifice to the weather?” ( Agamemnon 1420) Here she demonstrates how she did not value her husband’s life just like he did not value that of his daughter and killed her.
Clytemnestra further shows total disregard of the powers held by the chorus in her society. The chorus seems to be assigned with significant power of deciding who leaves and stays in the community. The support it demonstrates towards Agamemnon and their dislike of Clytemnestra show that the chorus is comprised of me. In disregard to the social power accorded to the male gender through the chorus Clytemnestra tells them “You want me to submit? Then make me. But remember: god above may give the victory instead to me to rule— a harsh late lesson for some slow old fools ( Agamemnon 1420). She shows her lack of fear for the power they hold and if they think she will submit to them they need to force her into such actions. She however warns that the gods might act in her favor and accord her power over them which would result in a harsh lesson for them. She goes further to threaten them without fear of what they might do to her. Agamemnon shows gender conflict in a perspective where women seem to be stepped upon by men but Clytemnestra stands her ground against this through her actions. Male and female conflict is not only evident in Agamemnon but is further demonstrated in The Libation Bearers .
Even in the second play, Clytemnestra takes her place at the helm in her community and supports the liberation and possession of power by women in her society. However, her children Orestes and Electra hold opposing views on women and power in their society. One would expect that Electra would side with her mother in support of women being in power. However, she feels that the lifestyle her mother has chosen is wrong and prays for chastity from her father’s spirit. She further supports her brother’s mission to restore their father’s dignity through killing their mother and Aegisthus her lover. She states “You dearest member of your father’s house. The seed of hope through all our weeping— trust to your own strength and win back again your father’s home” ( Choephori 300). Orestes on the other hand seeks to revenge his father’s murder while focusing on taking his community back to its patriarchal system. The chorus in the second play is represented by women and they too do not support the queen’s actions. They applaud Electra’s and Orestes desires for their mother, a fellow woman to be killed. They state “I would that I might see them dead and burning in the flames, flesh bubbling in the pitch” ( Choephori 260). The chorus states this in support of Orestes desire to avenge his father by killing his mother and her lover Aegisthus. Orestes manages to kill his mother and restores the society to its original patriarchal form meaning that the position of women in the second play is once again determined by men. Gender conflict does not end there but is also evident in The Eumenides .
In the third play, The Eumenides , gender conflict is clearly evident and this time it involves the Greek gods and goddesses. Here, both Orestes and Clytemnestra are seeking liberation and vengeance respectively and Orestes is backed by Apollo while Clytemnestra is backed by the Furies. In the play, the dominance of men over women is further strengthened by the decision of the trial and how Athena supports the actions of Orestes. Athena states “ There is no mother that gave me birth and I prefer the male in all respects - except for a mate - with all my heart, and I am completely on my father's side” ( Eumenides 740). Orestes wins the trial which means that men win in the end.
Even when the male gender wins in the end, the world in the play would have been different if women were in power. There would have been more value attached to women because they are not valued with men in power. It is evident in how Orestes and Athena refer to women as a vessel of carrying the embryo and nothing more. Therefore women are regarded as nothing more than the role they play in giving birth. A world with women at the helm would mean a better place for them in society, one that does not necessarily demean men as the men are stepping on women while they are in power.
