Joseph Ucci
Blog Post 3: 3/18/2016
Even though Lysistrata and the women take an oath to abstain from
sexual relations with their husbands until the war turns to peace, many of the
men do not believe they could stand by such a thing. A few of the women try to
bail on defending the Akropolis but Lysistrata forces them to stay. She refuses
to allow them to show weakness to the men. To test the women's
strength, Kinesias is sent to try and take back his wife, Myrrhine. Upon
reaching the Akropolis, Lysistrata knows what the men are planning and trains
Myrrhine to deceive her husband. Lysistrata tells her to "Sear him with
kisses, coyness, caresses, everything—but stop where Our Oath begins."
(78) Myrrhine begins to flirt with her husband, making him think he can finally
have sex again. Kinesias tries to coerce Myrrhine to quickly hurry and get in
the bed but Myrrhine, following the women's oath, continuously uses
distractions and excuses to avoid the skin-to-skin contact. Kinesias repeatedly
shouts to Myrrhine to “Come to bed, you witch” (89) because he can’t wait any
longer. Kinesias begging for Myrrhine shows the power the women now hold over
the men. Myrrhine knows that Kinesias thought that he was soon going to defeat
the women’s boycott. By teasing and fooling her husband, Myrrhine humiliates all
of the men’s intentions. Kinesias prays to Zeus and says how “scuttled
[and] gutted” (90) he is. This proves that the men are soon close to their breaking
point and may have to bring peace to Greece in order to win back their wives.
Myrrhine and and Kinesias' interaction reveals character traits about each of them. More importantly, the scene further develops Lysistrata's characterization. Her role as a leader is further defined when she offers Myrrhine the advice: "Sear him with kisses, coyness, caresses, everything—but stop where Our Oath begins." (78)
ReplyDeleteWomen gain so much power over men in this play by simply taking themselves away from their husbands. Men continuously treat women as if they are underneath of them on the societal scale, but as soon as they are gone the men beg for them to come home. Men cannot live without their wives and by the end of the play they will most likely realize their mistakes.
ReplyDeleteI think this post truly captures the nature of the women's plan. The quote "But stop where the Oath begins" portrays their deceit perfectly- make the men vulnerable, only to deny them. By doing this, the women make the men weaker and weaker as time goes on.
ReplyDelete