I was just thinking about how necessary it was for the womyn in this play to fight against their husbands by abstaining from sex. I wonder if they could've achieved the same end using different means. Really, this is the only way you could get your husbands to listen to you is by denying them your body? Random : If Grecian society was so liberal in its expression of sexuality would these men have been so attached to their womyn if they could find sexual solice (sp) else where (in each other)?
Lysistrata w/out abstinence:
I think that the womyn would've gotten their husbands home a lot sooner if they had presented their husbands with the consequences of their actions. By this I mean bringing to their attention the harm and damage that they are doing to the lives of their children. Instead of Myrinne's son being a mere prop used by Kinesias why couldn't he be the force that ended the war.
Imagine how different and more powerful the play would've been if the womyn chose to take their children to the front lines and line the children of all nations in between the two armies and told the men to chose between their children or the war. Which would they have chosen? Would they have come to a truce sooner than they did with their womyn?
Friday, November 14, 2008
Obligation
Posted by J'mag at 5:31 PM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Yeah, that's a really good point, J'mag. I really didn't like how Kinesias just used his son in order to make Myrrhine feel guilty so she would sleep with him. How tacky. And I really hope the men would have chosen their children over the war, but frankly, I'm not sure. Because in the part where the women say that the war affects them too since their sons have to fight it, the men were just like, "oh yeah...our sons. Forgot about them..."
i think that's a good point, but i think Aristophanes was playing to the idea of maternal instinct there. i just dunno if they would have had the same feelings. like, there are some pretty bad guys out there (think dead beat dad)but in general, men in a militaristic society like Sparta or even Athens had would think of their sons fighting in the military as just another thing that happened all the time, nbd. so i kinda doubt that would have persuaded them.
I think you have a good point and some really good ideas.. I wonder if there really were any other ways they could have gotten their husbands to give in instead of using abstinence as a means. I'm not sure if the men would have cared so much... I think some would have cared but I'm not sure if it would have been for the right reasons. Like, Kinesias didnt seem to care about his son one bit, he seemed to view him as a material good and only cared for him when he needed something.. So i dont know if he would have stood up against the war if they put their sons on the front lines. There might have been some men afraid they wouldnt have a son to carry on their name but if many were like Kinesias, I'm not sure...
i think the men would have chosen the war. we saw what happened with kinesias and his son, he treated him like dirt and didn't even call him by name, he was just used to get myrrine back to having sex with him so i don't think using children would have been good and also because not everyone of them probably have children to do that with.
Post a Comment