To what extent do you agree with this statement?
Toni Yordanov
“Women at the Thesmophoria” is a comedy by the Greek playwright Aristophanes, including a wide mixture of real and invented characters and referring to other plays from the same time. In the main role is the tragedian Euripides, who is considered to denigrate the women and they want to kill him. Now his friend Mnesilochus sneaks at the Thesmophoria and tries to defend his friend, but the things become quite messy…
Indeed, this play represents the women in a quite unfavorable light. It seems that all they do at the festivals is to drink wine – that is proved by the conversation between Mica and Mnesilochus, when she asks him what they’ve been doing the previous year firstly, secondly and thirdly – the answer is: drinking. Aristophanes builds up an alcoholic image of the women, making them look like drunkards rather than respectable wives and mothers. But the wine is not their only sin – Mnesilochus tells some scandalous stories about hidden-lovers, how women like to be rogered by slaves and mule-drivers, buying babies etc. All women are shocked to hear such things at a public place, but none of them says: it’s a lie. Here Aristophanes mocks the women directly, characterizing them as sex-maniacs, liars, mean and vicious beings. Moreover, the punishment they invent for Mnesilochus’ words is to “plunk her bush and singe her” – primitive, vulgar and even childish, but Aristophanes aim is to make them look stupid. Strangely but fact, no one of the women sees that Mnesilochus is actually a man, but they have to take his clothes off in order to find out the truth. One final way the women are mocked is there “religious activity” – actually such thing is missing. Truly, the ceremonies at the Thesmophoria were kept in secret and no one can be sure what is happening there. Aristophanes’ idea is that women are trying to get rid of their husbands for a couple of days and spend their time in drinking and some indecent things.
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The ways women are portrayed in the play creates the comic effect in all they do or are trying to do. The jokes on women expense usually concern their weakness for drink – when Mnesilochus steals Mica’s baby he finds out that it is actually wine. Probably Mica prefers to hug a bottle of good wine than a crying child. Bu there also other obstructive characters such as Crytilla, who stands on Euripides way and prevents Mnesilochus escape. But would women find this vision funny? Probably not, but the majority (or the whole) of the audience were men and they were Aristophanes’ target.
However, Aristophanes does not mock only women but also a wide range of other characters included in the play. The main aim seemsto be his competitors – Agathon and Euripides. The former takes part at the beginning and is described as effeminate, dressing and moving just like a woman. Another comic effect comes from his flowery way of speaking – he is using too many words to express a single thought. On the other side Euripides is not mocked but his plays such as “Helen”, “Andromeda” are. Dressed as Menelaus and later as Menelaus, Euripides tries to save his friend, who plays the roles of Helen and Andromeda. The comic comes from the strange circumstances, the parody of the real dialogue between them and the failed attempts to deceive anyone. Euripides’ plays are mocked by making them sound as comedies rather than tragedies and changing the original characters. For example, Menelaus wears rags – strange for such a great hero, while Perseus uses blunt comic language, but despite this the Scythian does not recognize the character from “Andromeda”. Here comes the next thing Aristophanes mocks – the foreigners. The Scythian speaks using vulgar language, short phrases, without any idea of proper grammar.
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All this shows the foreigners as stupid, sort of barbarians, people spoiling the Greek society and probably worth only as slaves. Moreover, the Scythian shows himself as a corruptible man, running after every nice girl he meets in this case the dancing girl at the end of the play. Another social group Aristophanes makes fun of is that of older people, represented by Mnesilochus. Some examples are the moment when he is shaved and singed; when he tries to deceive the women about his origin and family (“my husband is What’s-his-name”) or when hiding his phallus bending forward and backward. As a whole elder people are described as stupid, comic and vulgar (Mnesilochus uses words as “ragged” and “bugger”) making them to look as lower members of the society, worth mocking.
What makes “Women at the Thesmophoria” one of the best Greek comedies is the variety of comic techniques used. Firstly, parody – the women are at a festival but when they are discussing Euripides’ fate it resembles a law court. It is quite funny, because women are now just like their husbands when having an assembly, taking the role of high judges and magistrates. Secondly comes the visual humour such as the costumes the women are wearing (they are actually men) or the moment when Mnesilochus is playing the role of Andromeda, chained up or the rescue scene with Perseus on the crane. All this examples look absurdly and quite unusual, which makes the audience to laugh, seeing character they know well in a new light. Thirdly, the play has plenty of word play and innuendo e.g. Mnesilochus imaginary children – Fanny and Willy or husband – What’s-his-name. There is also a lot of sexual innuendo “if you wrote about Phaedra would assume the straddling position” – mocking Agathon’seffeminate nature. One of the best comic techniques is the cross-dressing e.g. Agathon and Mnesilochus are dressed as women and behave as women. Sometimes men are so effeminate that it is difficult for the audience to recognize their real gender, for example Cleisthenes appearance raises laugh with his womanlike clothes and manners. On the other side, Mica impresses with her speaking abilities and most Greeks would define her as an orator, politician or judge rather than a wife, spending her time inside the house.
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Despite being a highly entertaining play, “Women at the Thesmophoria” is written at a time of serious crisis and changes in the Greek world, especially Athens. It is produced in 4111BC when the polis is trying to restore itself from the Sicilian expedition, where there ships are wrecked. The shortage of money and lack of good perspective lead to revolution and democracy is replaced by oligarchic regime of 400 men. All these extraordinary events would give to Aristophanes enough material for 3 or 4 plays, but instead he writes “Women at the Thesmophoria” – a comedy which is not political at all and tries to escape from the real world and the real tragedy of Athens. Probably Aristophanes makes an attempt to entertain the Athenians and inspire them to go forward.
To sum up “Women at the Thesmophoria” is one of the most entertaining Greek comedies, written at time of great social cataclysms, but being non-political. Actually, the Aristophanes uses a wide range of comic techniques to mock the Athenian women, a couple of playwrights, some social groups such as foreigners and older people etc. But his main aim is to give the audience a good reason to smile.
