Humor in Assemblywomen by Aristophanes

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Humor in Assemblywomen by Aristophanes

Assemblywomen, by Aristophanes, posits a system in which the institution for the transfer of wealth within a patrimonial line is subverted by a system that closely resembles the ordering of a Greek household. In Assemblywomen, the women take power and redesign the social mechanisms. Although the Assemblywomen radically change some elements of the Greek social institution, such as private property and sexual limitation, the women remain, although in an expanded form, within the structure of a household. Male dominance is tempered but gender roles are reinforced. The institution of the household in Assemblywomen is expanded into the body politic but its fundamental nature does not change.

In contrast, Oeconomicus offers a more conventional conception of the Athenian household. Ischomachos, for his own edification, presents to Socrates an idealized version of his household. Ischomachos, in his effort to impress Socrates with the skill and talents of his young wife, gives a clear account of the Athenian social norms surrounding the household. This text is useful in understanding Assemblywomen because it offers the social ideal that, to varying degrees, Aristophanes perverts. Indeed, Assemblywomen adheres to many of the ideals of the household put forth by Oeconomicus. Aristophanes does not depart completely from the conventional conception of a household but rather parodies the system by locating it in the larger context of the polis.

There are a few fundamental similarities between Aristophanes’ Assemblywomen and the more conventional Oeconomicus. First, despite the female entrance into public society, there remains a strong division of labor. The men and women do not work together, but remain separate factions with gender specific tasks and duties. This separations of labor is also found in Oeconomicus when Ischomachos proclaims that, “it is a finer thing for a women to stay indoors than to spend time in the open, while it is more disgraceful for a man to stay indoors than to concern himself with outdoor things” (33,IV). Women are expected to do the tasks associated with the interior of the household. In Assemblywomen, after the women take control of the polis, they do not assume the civic duties once carried out by the men but rather try “remodeling it into one big household” (730).

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