In continuation with today’s class discussion, I thought I’d offer some more input on the topics of Justice and Revenge, and my reactions to the text with these themes in mind. At the moment Dr. Patterson presented the question “What is justice?” a simple, yet profound quote from Christopher Nolan’s version of the well-known comic book hero “Batman Begins” came to mind. (Yes, in my mind, all things come back to Batman). The quote is spoken by Rachel Dawes, Bruce Wayne’s childhood friend, who is providing the struggling hero some advice before he makes a hasty decision about acting upon his parents’ death:
Rachel: Is this about justice, or revenge?
Bruce: Both. Sometimes they’re the same.
Rachel: No, they’re never the same. Justice is about harmony. Revenge is about making yourself feel better. Which is why we have an impartial system...
In today’s class discussion, many people related words such as impartial and peace, or harmony, with the idea of justice, and related self-gratification with the idea of revenge or vengeance. I thought this was an interesting point to bring up because I’m sure I’m not the only reader who still cannot decide or pinpoint how I feel about the characters’ actions and decisions thus far in The Oresteia. I know I can distinguish between the ideas of justice and revenge, but I can argue that Clytaemnestra’s specific acts could quite possibly fall under either category. Perhaps once I finish the third play my views shall be more concrete, but I’m always one to argue things from both sides, and I can never be certain, when it comes to characters, who I side with, and who should be dubbed “good guy” and “bad guy”.
As I read Agamemnon, I was definitely on Clytaemnestra’s side, and felt as though what she did was right. Perhaps I also took her side because she’s pretty badass, and its nice to see a woman, who isn’t a goddess, actually do something cool in ancient texts. But as I read “The Libation Bearers” my view of her continued to shift, and in class discussion, my stance continued to sway. I began to see that Clytaemnestra was a bit of a hypocrite. She believed she was “justified” in killing her husband because of Iphigenia’s death, but also because of his affair.
All in all, I totally back her decision if killing Agamemnon was one hundred percent to avenge her daughter’s death, but if her reasoning was more about ending his affair and gaining power for herself, then I’m not a fan, because, as Rachel Dawes says, it was about making herself feel better.
Rachel Dawes was so cool, it's sad she had to die. Clytemnestra is a really conflicting character for me because on one hand her daughter was killed and her husband was sleeping with a Trojan prize of war, but on the other hand she was sleeping with a not so nice man herself and she was a terrible Greek citizen with no sense of religious and family duty. In the end I think her self-absorption and need for her own power overshadowed her original intentions.
ReplyDeleteThat Batman quote sums up the ideas that came up in class-- I had similar considerations about Clytemnestra and the brutal themes of the play. Very hard, because she's interesting and ruthless, and Agamemnon's murder of their daughter seems to go so overlooked by the characters. No one but the beastly Furies are in her favor-- I give her points for being a feminist. I didn't know this old texts could be so strange and savage. Or that a movie like Batman could be so enlightened. I have to watch the film again. I thought that Rachel Dawes appears in the second film too, just a different actress, didn't know that it ends for her character. Since I'm off topic now, this is blog has a great design-sense! Really enjoyed reading your observations.
ReplyDeletePersonally my opinion about whether Clytmesstra was just in killing her husband changes every time i think about it. Sometimes I am completely against her and think she is an evil lying devil. Perhaps this is because I am going to favor the man in the situation. On the contrary, I think she was justified in killing him for a few reasons. If I had a wife who was gone for 10 years and killed my child I would defiantly have an affair. Possibly even kill her when she came home. I think I would just be a little less sneaky about it and thats what makes me dislike Clytmesstra sometimes. I do not like they tricky and deceit she uses so well. However, for at least today I do think Clytmesstra was justified in killing Agammenon. Especially after he decides to show up with Cassandra.
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