An Exploration of Maternal Revenge in Greek Tragedy
Open Access DepositedThe Brides of Achilles
This thesis will explore themes of maternal revenge in Greek tragedy as women who express agency through acts of revenge are repudiated from society. Specifically considering the acts of Clytemnestra in Aeschylus’ Agamemnon and Hekabe in Euripides’ Hekabe, Clytemnestra and Hekabe’s acts of revenge will be analyzed in relation to gender performativity and these women’s understandings of societally-prescribed gender roles. Clytemnestra and Hekabe express this understanding through their use of rhetoric and physical acts of vengeance to expose the fragility and manipulability of the patriarchy. Despite the positions of power that these characters temporarily assume, they are ultimately rejected from socio-normative society for their acts of agency.
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