Lysistrata is a very headstrong character. She has no fear
in presenting her ideas to the women of the city. She presents her idea in such
a way by employing the power of pathos to win the hearts of friends and
enemies. Lysistrata tugs on their heart strings: “It concerns the fathers of
your children… Wouldn’t you like to have them home?” (23). Her plan to bring
forth peace to their nation is also genius- women fight with femininity to
their advantage. She believes the fate of Greece hangs in the balance and it's
up to the women to make sure harmony is restored. This indicates that a sex
strike would set an end to a war, reinforcing a reoccurring theme seen in Othello. Iago calls Othello a “Barbary
horse,” an “old black ram,” and also tells Brabancio that his daughter and
Othello are “making the beast with
two backs”. Shakespeare emphasized that Othello and Desdemona’s sex life was savage
and that they simply acted off of human instinct- an animalistic desire for one
another. Aristophanes portrays this as the husbands’ kryptonite. He allows
Lysistrata to uncover the “weakness” and formulate it into a plan of action.
Not only does she use sex as a weapon, she takes away the men’s power by
dispatching a group of old women to the Acropolis to seize the treasury. By
overthrowing the treasury, she depletes the reasons fueling the war because it
can no longer be blamed on money. Once all the women agree, they take an oath
to formally unite.
While i agree Lysistrata uses pathos as a way to win over the men of Greece, she also uses the pleasure that some men "need". She understands that all men do have a weakness when it comes to sex and may just be willing to forfeit and obey the women to end the war. Overthrowing the Acropolis proves the women's serious intentions and shows they will not back down from any battle that approaches them.
ReplyDeleteI love your comparison between Othello and Lysistrata. In many cases men are seen as animalistic. Their need for sex and pleasure causes them to act out and go to extreme measures in order to get what they want. Lysistrata believes they will go as far as ending the war so that their pleasure isn't taken away.
ReplyDeleteI never thought even made the connection between Othello and Lysistrata; i thought it was really relevent and shows that sex really does fuel at least apart of the human world. I agree that by the women uniting to be abstinent, peace will eventually be brought about. In the play, some women had their doubts and were scared that their husbands would leave them, however, i do think the plan will work and sex is a man's "kryptonite."
ReplyDeleteThis is a good assessment of Lysistrata's plan to win the war: sex. Lysistrata knows that men often times are victims of their natural sex drives and desire sex with their wives often. By getting her fellow women to impose a feminine "strike" on sex, the Greek women prove how powerful they really are.
ReplyDeleteInteresting how you assessed the concept of sex and attributed to the direct needs of men. Based on the complaints expressed by the women in the meeting, there remained implications of man- both men and women- having an instinctive need for sex. The women weren't so easily persuaded to abstain from sex themselves. Overall a great analysis.
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