By today’s standards the women in Lysistrata use very audacious language; in Aristophanes’ time their language was most likely unspeakable offensive. The witty diction choice for the women not only adds humor to this comedy, but it also serves as a shocking and refreshing twist to feminism.
Aristophanes took political-satirist to a new level using the wit-war between the women and the men. The confrontation between these groups quickly escalated when the women threatened to “reap [the men’s] bowels, bite by bite, and leave no balls on the body” (43). This episode ended with the men having a bath “in public, fully dressed, [and] totally soapless” (51).
This bold display of radical rebellion using witty statements and offensive language supports the theme that women not only have the wisdom but also the physical strengths to aid in the survival of a society. When fighting the men, Lysistrata tells the women: “Don’t be ladylike” (51). She tells them this because she wants women to embrace their masculine qualities that Greek societies are infatuated with. Lysistrata knows using these qualities will give women a significantly louder voice in the outcome of the war
In this political cartoon, women are shown to surpass standard displays of feminism and head straight for the front lines. Like the Koryphaios of Women, modern women are becoming more willing to face opposition head-on and utilize even more of their inner masculinity. “Rosie the Rocketer” wears male-like gear to fight in war while the Athenian women wore “tunics very like those of the Men” (65). Women now are more straightforward and explicit when fighting and sexist discrepancies they are faced with like the women in Lysistrata’s army.
I 100% agree with the facts and details you used to prove your point. The estrogen army had started onward and had advised to stay strong an display their true strength. The women had spoke out and had been gawked at. Their rebellious tendencies and spiteful acts had shown the group of men their outer strength was about to fall and their inner weakness would be the only thing left.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great point! In the misogynistic society the Greeks lived in, women would have been punished for implementing their own ideas and speaking their minds. However, you noted this is broken for comedy purposes. I found this most when Lysistrata tells the commissioner to shush and further continues to state her feelings on the war and explains the way her husband treats her when he is on leave between wars.
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