The Portrayal of Gender Issues in Lysistrata by Aristophanes

858 Words2 Pages

Lysistrata is a bawdy play written by the comic playwright from ancient Athens, Aristophanes. This age-old comedy details the quest of one Athenian woman’s crusade to put an end to the incessant Peloponnesian War. As a method of non-violent resistance, Lysistrata, along with other women who hail from Athens and other warring states, capitalize on their sexuality. In a male-dominated society, the deprival of sexual privileges by these women render their husbands and lovers powerless. In an attempt for peace, a comical yet crucial battle of the sexes erupts. It is evident that emphasis is not placed solely on the influence of sex and sexuality, but rather the gender issues in Classical society and the conceptualization of masculinity and femininity. The complexity surrounding the argument as to whether or not Lysistrata is a useful source for women’s history relies heavily upon the authors application of such ideas. After a qualitative analysis of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, Lysistrata and her co-conspirators appear to be dramatizations and not realistic imitations of women in classical Greece, rendering the source highly problematic and unreliable. Aristophanes’ Lysistrata is a political remark. In Athens, Greece, around 411 BC, women were not independent. Patriarchal domination was inconceivable in a time where there appeared to be insufficient social transformations or civic manifestations, in regards to the treatment or views towards women, in which were set forth by men. Midway through the play there is a confrontation between Lysistrata and the Magistrate. LYSISTRATA. You stupid fool! We were quite prepared to warn you; you refused to hear advice. Then disaster. Throughout the city ‘All our boys are gone!’ you crie... ... middle of paper ... ...ale counterparts are uncharacteristic of the stereotypical role that women served and their masculine-like actions are not representative of a woman’s role in ancient Greece. Aristophanes’ Lysistrata is inconceivable and it appears that the author ignored many issues in light of comedic attributes. However, the play, filled with misogynistic undertones, will remain a war-comic. There is no pro-feminist movement occurring within the confines of the play or in classical Greece. The female protagonist is an example of the dangers of role reversal that Katherine French and Allyson Poska highlight in Women and Gender in the Western Past and the false identification or hope that Lysistrata presents. A play noted for its entertainment value should not be used as a source for women’s history. Lysistrata is theatrically entertaining in value and should remain as such.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of The Essay 'Athenian Women' By Sarah Ruden

    1086 Words  | 3 Pages

    In her essay on, “Athenian Women,” Sarah Ruden points out that Aristophanes in Lysistrata portray women as supportive of Athenian institutions and eager to save them. But she cautions, “To do this now they must flout law, religion, and every notion of public decency – and this is definitely no reflection on women’s attitudes, but mere satirical farce and fantasy” (Ruden 107). An important element of “satirical farce” in this spirit would be a heavy use of repetition to make people laugh at the weakness being satirized. One example would not be enough, and the audience might not be amused by less than three or four examples. So in important episodes that fill out the action of the play, we have 4 examples of women beating guards,

    Read More

  • Aristophanes' Views

    1810 Words  | 4 Pages

    prized. This of course was more of a problem for a rich husband than a

    Read More

  • The Status of Women in New Testament and Lysistrata

    575 Words  | 2 Pages

    nature, and women's legal rights. & nbsp;       Albeit in Lysistrata the women were shown as revolutionaries rising up against the men, women in classical Greece were never like that.  Aristophanes created the play as a comedy, showing how the world might be in the times of the Peloponnesian war if women tried to do something.  It was the women's job to stay home and tend to the house, and never leave, unlike they did in the play. women were shown as revolutionaries rising up against the men, women in classical Greece was never like that. & nbsp;       The activities of women in Classical Athens were confined to "bearing children, spinning and weaving, and managing the domestic arrangements. No wandering in the beautiful streets of them. "    The suppression of women went so far as to divide the house into separate areas for males and females.  While the women stayed home, the men were usually out fighting, and when they weren't. fighting, they were entertaining their friends and having sexual favors.

    Read More

  • Important Role of Women in Homer's Odyssey

    1720 Words  | 4 Pages

    Yet, despite the fact that no two women in this epic are alike, each—through her vices or virtues—helps to delineate the role of the ideal woman. Below, we will show the importance of Circe, Calypso, Nausicaa, Clytaemestra, and Penelope in terms of the movement of the narrative and in defining social roles for the Ancient Greeks. Before we delve into the traits of individual characters, it is important to understand certain assumptions about women that prevailed in the Homeric Age. By modern standards, the Ancient Greeks would be considered a rabidly misogynistic culture. Indeed, the notoriously sour Boetian playwright Hesiod-- who wrote about fifty years before Homer-- proclaimed "Zeus who thunders on high made women to be evil to mortal men, with a nature to do evil (Theogony 600).

    Read More

  • Euripides Medea Vs. Greek Prejudices And Gender Roles

    1165 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the story of Medea, the author, Euripides, addresses the topics of foreignism and female roles in the ancient Greek society. In the play, Medea, a foreign born woman, marries Jason, a Greek man, and moves to Greece to be with him after leaving her homeland with death and devastation. Then, when their marriage fails, Medea lashes out against Jason, causing her own exile and murdering her children, to which she has no love connection, and Jason’s new wife in the process. The main character, Medea, confirms many of the alleged Greek prejudices against foreigners and creates some prejudices of her own in return. Medea’s foreign roots and misconceptions, as well as her familial and societal atrocities,

    Read More

  • Comparing the Characters of Lysitrata, Penelope, and Medea

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lysistrata is portrayed as a typical commander of war that gives orders and does not take part in the war. While being the mastermind behind the sex strike, she is able to separate her self from the other women in her ability to resist her attraction for men. The women are used as pawns by this cunning and powerful, Lysistrata, who is victorious in establishing peace in Greece.

    Read More

  • A Modern Production of Lysistrata

    927 Words  | 2 Pages

    In a modern day production of Lysistrata, a director’s role would involve the overseeing of the whole play making course and ensuring that all the cast members realize the vision of the production. This role covers all the steps of production from the interpretation of the script to the final performance. This means that the director has a say over a range of disciplines and has to have artistic vision. Lysistrata was produced in 411 B.C., at a time when Athens and Sparta had just concluded a two-decade long war and the general population was in despair. Comedies such as these were used then to communicate instructions to the people (mbc.edu). This essay will focus on the scene where Lysistrata has gathered all the women to convinces the to withhold sex from their husbands until they sign a peace treaty.

    Read More

  • Lysistrata

    1040 Words  | 3 Pages

    Aristophanes was a craft comedy poet in the fourth century B.C. during the time of the Peloponnesian War. Aristophanes’ usual style was to be satirical, and suggesting the eccentric. The most absurd and humorous of Aristophanes’ comedies are those in which the main characters, the heroes of the story, are women. Smart women. One of the most famous of Aristophanes’ comedies portraying powerfully capable women is Lysistrata, named after the female lead character of the play. It depicts Athenian Lysistrata and the women of Athens teaming up with the women of Sparta to force their husbands to conclude the Peloponnesian War. The play is a comedy, which appears to be written for the amusement of men. The play can be seen as a historical reference to ancient Greece, but it seems highly unlikely that women would talk with such a crude sexual tone. Instead Lysistrata is strictly a satirical play written maybe even to make men doubt the innocence of a woman.

    Read More

  • Medea and Lysistrata

    536 Words  | 2 Pages

    Medea and Lysistrata are two Greek literatures that depict the power which women are driven to achieve in an aim to defy gender inequality. In The Medea, Medea is battling against her husband Jason whom she hates. On the other hand, in Aristophanes' Lysistrata, the protagonist Lysistrata plotted to convince and organize the female gender to protest against the stubbornness of men. In terms of defining the purpose of these two literatures, it is apparent that Euripedes and Aristophanes created characters that demonstrate resistance against the domination of men in the society.

    Read More

  • Women And The Role Of Women In Classical Mythology

    1197 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...herself as a man and has misogynistic tendencies. Fortunately, the role of women in society today has changed very much from the roles that they played in classical mythology. Women are now seen as being able to play any role they desire, whether it is the role of a housewife or the role of a workingwoman with a successful career. It is no surprise that achieving the roles that women play today took such a long time when for so long even in mythology women’s roles in society were constantly pushed in the direction of domestics and when for so long women were portrayed as less then pleasant creatures. The fact that these sorts of roles were pushed on women in the Greco-Roman society was proof enough that it was a patriarchal society. It is astoundingly wonderful that the roles that women play in modern society have evolved so much since the times of classical myths.

    Read More

  • Essay on Satire in Lysistrata

    766 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... convey deeper themes of life and death, the struggles between power and class structure and also the societal differences between men and women.  Aristophanes uses humor to hook his audience into his play, and then undermines the surface humor with much bigger thematic issues.  If this play had simply been about women withholding sex for other reasons such as wanting more money for shopping or other frivolous ideas it would not then be considered a satiric comedy.  Satire requires more than physical humor.  An issue must be raised such as the life and death theme that is seen in the war in Lysistrata, and a solution must then be made.  Aristophanes created the women in the beginning to be bickering, unintelligent, and self-centered people.  But in the end it was their idea and compromise that ended the war.

    Read More

  • An Analysis in Feminism in the Play 'Lysistrata'

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Aristophanes play Lysistrata, the women of Greece take on the men to stop the raging war between the Athenians and the Spartans. To stop the war, the women withhold sex from their male counterparts, and take over the Acropolis for themselves. The women are indeed triumphant in their goals to stop the war, and the Athenians and Spartans come to an understanding. What is blatantly ignored, however, is that Aristophanes creates a gender war that, although seemingly rejoices the actions of the women, instead mocks the women’s power-struggle in a male dominated society, focuses on the male-privilege seen throughout the entirety of the play, and should be disregarded in the fact that this play is not even from a women’s perspective.

    Read More

  • Lysistrata Analysis

    1291 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Lysistrata” is a tale which is centered around an Athenian woman named Lysistrata and her comrades who have taken control of the Acropolis in Athens. Lysistrata explains to the old men how the women have seized the Acropolis to keep men from using the money to make war and to keep dishonest officials from stealing the money. The opening scene of “Lysistrata” enacts the stereotypical and traditional characterization of women in Greece and also distances Lysistrata from this overused expression, housewife character. The audience is met with a woman, Lysistrata, who is furious with the other women from her country because they have not come to discuss war with her. The basic premise of the play is, Lysistrata coming up with a plan to put an end to the Peloponnesian War which is currently being fought by the men. After rounding up the women, she encourages them to withhold sex until the men agree to stop fighting. The women are difficult to convince, although eventually they agree to the plan. Lysistrata also tells the women if they are beaten, they may give in, since sex which results from violence will not please the men. Finally, all the women join Lysistrata in taking an oath to withhold sex from their mates. As a result of the women refraining from pleasing their husbands until they stop fighting the war, the play revolves around a battle of the sexes. The battle between the women and men is the literal conflict of the play. The war being fought between the men is a figurative used to lure the reader to the actual conflict of the play which is the battle between men and women.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in Medea by Euripides

    1283 Words  | 3 Pages

    Centuries of traditions has enabled men and women to define gender roles in society. Although some critics declare gender roles do not exist today, others believe they do. In society, men and women are defined by gender roles throughout their activities and emotions. A doctor is typically portrayed by a male while women rear the children and cook for the men. However, although still in existence, today these roles are less obvious but tend to have similar meaning when compared to the past. In ancient Greece, women suffered great hardships. Currently, females work, vote, and run for office. In comparison to ancient Greece, these activities are a phenomenal leap from being under the direct supervision of a male husband.

    Read More

  • Characterization of "Lysistrata"

    620 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lysistrata, first produced in 411 B.C. is a play that represents the frustrations that Athenian women faced due to the Peloponnesian War. Lysistrata, an Athenian woman is the play's heroine; her name is significant in itself, as it means "she who disbands the armies" (Page 467, footnote 2). With the aide of other Athenian women, Lysistrata organizes a "sex strike" in an effort to cease further violence and bring peace between Athens and Sparta. Eventually, her campaign is adopted by the women of Greece, and the efforts of the Athenian women are successful. Lysistrata is not only a leader for Athenian women; she is also bold and does not represent the stereotype of traditional, domestic Athenian women.

    Read More

More about The Portrayal of Gender Issues in Lysistrata by Aristophanes

Open Document