The “masculinization” of Clitemnestra in Aeschylus’ Agamemnon
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34019/2318-3446.2023.v11.40635Keywords:
Oresteia, Clytemnestra, Aeschylus, Agamemnon, NarrativeAbstract
Throughout the entire tragedy Agamemnon, Aeschylus carries out the gradual process of “masculinization” of Clytemnestra. Several characteristics then considered masculine are attributed to her. It is a narrative construction to characterize Clytemnestra as the example of a “bad wife”, as Agamemnon's damned soul curses her in the Odyssey, and the narrative gradually escalates the characterization until it culminates in Agamemnon's sacrifice. In spite of this, Clytemnestra starts from assumptions typical of the female gender. Supported by the analysis of the original texts and the specialized literature, I argue that Aeschylus' attempt to masculinize Clytemnestra leads to inconsistencies in the heroine's condemnation, as well as raises questions about representations of the feminine, political power relations and the biological origin of life, which are what is at stake in the judgment of Orestes in Eumenides, when Athena determines that Orestes is “the son of the father” in an unsatisfactory Deus ex machina solution.
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