What Clytemnestra did was, of course, horrible. She took a lover and killed not only Agamemnon, but also Cassandra, an innocent prisoner. In those respects, she's definitely a villain.
I can't help but see her side of the conflict, though. Her husband murdered their daughter - just so he could get out of port and go to war. It's hard to blame Clytemnestra for being furious. It doesn't help that her accusations of a double standard seem pretty legitimate.
The point is not that murder is okay - that Clytemnestra should get away with murder because her husband did. But why is Clytemnestra damned for doing what her husband did? Where was Agamemnon's condemnation for his treatment of Iphigenia?
Murder and infidelity are never justifiable, but I think some of Clytemnestra's indignation and fury is.
PS: I commented on Abbie George's post.
Yeah, I almost want to say that she is justified. She says that, "He brutalized me." I can't imagine the amount of emotional turmoil she experienced when Ag. went to war. But the fact that she gets a new lover... That is beyond me. I don't know why, but that doesn't seem justifiable. She must be using him to get over Ag. and the whole sitch....
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts exactly. I would almost love to say that she was so racked with grief for her daughter that she went insane which caused her to murder. However, I don't think that is the case as she seems to be somewhat sane and clearly aware of what she is doing.
ReplyDeleteJust because she's sane doesn't mean that the grief isn't controlling her. Another possible insult to Clytemnestra is that the war Agamemnon sacrificed their daughter for was a war to save an adulterous woman. It also makes Clytemnestra's infidelity kind of ironic.
ReplyDelete