StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Meaning and Thematic Significance of the Quote from Lysistrata by Aristophanes - Term Paper Example

Cite this document
Summary
This term paper "Meaning and Thematic Significance of the Quote from Lysistrata by Aristophanes" is about the quote presents women as the only object for men to meet their sexual desires in society. The women according to men were meant to use to acquire wealth…
Download free paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER95.8% of users find it useful
Meaning and Thematic Significance of the Quote from Lysistrata by Aristophanes
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Meaning and Thematic Significance of the Quote from Lysistrata by Aristophanes"

Task: Meaning and thematic significance of the quote from Lysistrata by Aristophanes The quote “Give the man a shirt and bonnet: maybe that will shut him up...Pull a little lipstick on him...War is strictly for the women!” (Henderson 533) by Lysistrata Aristophanes illustrates the nature of the society dominated by male. The quote presents women as only objects for men to meet their sexual desires in the society. The women according to men were meant to use to acquire wealth. Women and men in this society are in war because women need men to take the leading role in stopping the war, but men on the other hand looks women as means to stop the war. This quote portrayed men as materialistic in nature and was concerned about protecting their properties from female counterparts. The male believed that the material property in the society played a key role in the society (Henderson 535). On the other hand, the women believed that men had the responsibility of men to stop the war. In this instance, women in the Greece culture were .were portrayed as sexual objects that ensured constant ownership of all the material properties, which was ironically designed to perpetuate the recurring war instead of reducing it. This is because, in this situation, the females were taken to be the most significant resource over which male competed. Consequently, lead to conflict between the two sexes in the society where men saw themselves superior and treated their women as mere sexual objects in the society. In this society, the Athens’ culture needed that every male was forced become a warrior, and his position in the society was gauged by his capability to fight, safeguard an obtain property from other warriors. Masculinity and warfare were two cultural determinants in the society; however, they were the genesis of the problems affecting the society. War was primarily used by the male to distinguish each other in the face of the rising demands of the women to have their men become responsible and stops the war. The engendered and internecine aspect of the war gradually more restricted the capability of the male citizens to differentiate themselves militarily and politically, apart from the moment of death or discredit, whereas the espousal of the harmonious or democratic perspective was equivocally unsustainable as this was considered unethical an unmanly in the male dominated environment. This conflict and its negative outcomes in the face of the play for both individual and the polis are well articulated by Aristophanes via the conflicted persona of his initial protagonist position. As the men became restricted in ever-lasting war with themselves, and with war itself, the female counterparts evolved to be part of the material property in which they struggle to maintain in the face of a society dominated by male. This was because female reproductive abilities were the major avenues by which the patriarchal structure of conflicts, ownership, transmission, and appropriation through justifiable beneficiaries was established (Henderson 31). The monogamous marriage aspect in this society was designed control women’s sexuality and guarantee parenthood; it was an undertaking that substituted and warranted that of war, and which proved female designation as property or use-objects, meant for male abuse. The monogamous aspect in the society promoted the aspect of commoditization and sexual exchange of women as apparently peaceful existence of male social relations, which was contrary to war ,however ,the aims of both undertakings yielded the same results : to acquire and maintain material property ,therefore promoting the status. During this time, the practice of slavery was experienced and this was because of successive development of the aspect of war, agriculture, and property ownership. This was conceived through the same ideological aspect as marriage, and therefore putting more emphasis on the question of whose concerns are served by these social institutions as it was in the case of slavery that served the interests of land –holding warrior social class. The outstanding and worthy responsibilities attached to woman in Greece’s patriarchal culture paradoxically served the role of promoting the cyclic conflict instead of minimizing it. Furthermore, the misrecognition and refusal of personhood of the woman objectification mandated belied the reality that women remain agents, with the capability to make informed decisions and influence diverse results, specifically with concern with their sexual orientation and parenthood of their children. It was female flexibility in the play, her concurrent way of life as an object and subject in the male dominated community has shown in the play, which allowed parenthood to flourish; nevertheless, it was this identical quality that also possessed capability to destroy and destabilize it. In the play women were perceived as principle generators of war among men, and at the same time avenue where the conflict can be resolved, and their sexualized bodies emerged to be the key sites of debate in male’s efforts for social superiority as a result of their ironical status within the ideological structure (Henderson 536). The challenges, which these efforts impacted on the civil society, were the main preoccupations of the past legendary tales of the ancient Greece. In the Iiad, Homer employed the use of the figure of the slave Briseis and fight that persisted over her midst Achilles and Agamenmnon to develop a microcosmic montage that represented back upon Helen and the bigger conflict of the Trojan war. He therefore highlighted the circularity and unavoidability of this aspect of conflict, and provided a substantial interpretation on the conflict’s invasive impacts, not only in matters of politics and military institutions, but on the entire aspect of structures covering gender and sexuality in the society dominated by men. His discovery of the vicious and efficient procedure by which females are appropriated, commoditized, and objectified shows that these actions not only function to serve an economic role, but rather functioned as apparatus of communication amongst men in the society. The other consequence of the ironical status of the female was that it developed her target of much men resentment and hostility, which showed itself in diverse ways that seemed to control her, to explore her as sex vessel and to reject her, in spite her significance, as a subordinate other. In this “war” which was based on gender, violence and rape there was inevitable strategic practices within this society as the men dominated this society (Henderson 534).The element of misogyny also manifested itself in severe forms all over the ancient Greek way of life, and it depended on the play specifically to attain this end. It was both literary and performative genre that capitalized on women as an object of sexual comedy. In this play, women were represented as ideal comic targets where men in the society could easily exploit to fulfill their own sexual desires. Women subjection to this discursive treatment, paradoxically established and celebrated her objective nature in the society, and at the same moment men embrace unity over and against women in the society as the enemy other. In the play, women were considered to be “enemies within” by men and they associated women’s body to the geographical features on the earth surface. There were two associations placed upon women, whereby women’s nature of productivity was associated with the productivity of land. The play presents women as mere objects that need to be explored by men sexually to produce children. The women in this society are expected to used acquire resources, which will be owned by men. In the last part of the play, there was the element of peace and reconciliation before them and the load of sexual withdrawal still heavy upon men; they hurriedly conquer their differences and embraced the element of peace. Therefore the quote on the play suggested that the ownership of the material things in the society were men, while the women on the other hand were merely sexual objects. Women was also perceived by men to the genesis of the problems in the society especially war, and they were the same people who could be used to stop the war (Henderson 537). Work Cited Henderson ,Jeffrey. Gender, Space and Warfare in the Early Plays of Aristophanes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,2007,print. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Meaning and Thematic Significance of the Quote from Lysistrata by Term Paper”, n.d.)
Meaning and Thematic Significance of the Quote from Lysistrata by Term Paper. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/literature/1449048-explain-the-meaning-and-thematic-significance-of
(Meaning and Thematic Significance of the Quote from Lysistrata by Term Paper)
Meaning and Thematic Significance of the Quote from Lysistrata by Term Paper. https://studentshare.org/literature/1449048-explain-the-meaning-and-thematic-significance-of.
“Meaning and Thematic Significance of the Quote from Lysistrata by Term Paper”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/literature/1449048-explain-the-meaning-and-thematic-significance-of.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Meaning and Thematic Significance of the Quote from Lysistrata by Aristophanes

Thesis on Lysistrata by Aristophanes

As characters aristophanes has chosen different types of women as benchmarks by which to measure the strong, independent and decidedly “male” character of Lysistrata-- eloquent as a speaker,… Other women in the play possess “traditional” female characteristics, which aristophanes not only disputes through the character of Lysistrata, aristophanes holds up to scrutiny the necessary ideal of the feminine as powerless as The intent of aristophanes to present women in a powerful light is confirmed by analysis of his character and the wellspring from which the play emanates....
5 Pages (1250 words) Thesis

Lysistrata by Aristophanes

Warfare has certainly changed sing aristophanes penned Lysistrata but the futility of war, the debasement of civilized human beings into savages and the inability… The death of a loved one thousands of years ago evokes the same sense of loss today.... Lysistrata is such a compelling figure of strength and determination that even a Greek guy wearing a mask could evoke the emotion aristophanes infused in this character.... But from the standpoint of acting and emotion, the real character of Lysistrata lies in the writing of aristophanes....
1 Pages (250 words) Movie Review

DISCUSSION: LYSISTRATA by Aristophanes

She exemplifies the lysistrata by aristophanes The humor in the play is focused on the strategy that Lysistrata thought of in order to end the war.... aristophanes could have thought of other ways to encourage the men to end the war but he instead though of a “sexual strategy”.... aristophanes could have thought of other ways to encourage the men to end the war but he instead though of a “sexual strategy”.... This is quite humorous since it is very out… One finds the part of the play where Kinesias was shown with a full erection and pleading his wife, Myrrhine for sex, funny. One's favorite character in the play is lysistrata....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

Lysistrata the Play by Aristophanes

Essentially, I was Reaction Paper: Lysistrata the Play Lysistrata is a play by aristophanes whose composition was inspired by the Peloponnesian war, which occurred between Athens and Sparta.... This is a reaction paper to the play lysistrata by “Naked Feet productions”.... Kalonike was played by Meryl Lynn Brown, Myrrhine played by Jill Lawrence, Lampito played by Eleonore Thomas, Isemenia played by Cathrene Mary Moroney, Kinesius played by William Crawford, Senator played by Daniel Tobin, Panny played by Lawrence Beck and lastly, aristophanes played by Robert Zaller....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Lysistrata (2003, Hackett Publishing Company)

aristophanes remains one of the greatest icons representing Greek comedy… Of the average forty plays he produced, eleven are still relevant today.... In turn, it makes sense that aristophanes was motivated to create the play by the Peloponnesian War, since he lived through its time.... The title of the play (lysistrata) is the [Greek] name of the main characterwho happens to be a woman.... Old Comedy is the period when there was freedom of political In lysistrata, the main subject revolves around the rise of feminism....
5 Pages (1250 words) Book Report/Review

Sex and Politics in Lysistrata

Ultimately, it seems as if aristophanes, while generally concerned with presenting an engaging comedy, is also concerned with advancing a progressive narrative that both supports women and criticizes various elements of the Greek political structure.... In these regards, there are a variety of means by which aristophanes lampoons Greek political authority throughout the play.... he tambourines would block the rowdy streets” (aristophanes)....
6 Pages (1500 words) Report

Lysistrata Unbound Fits as a Prequel to Aristophanes Lysistrata

This paper ''Lysistrata Unbound Fits as a Prequel to Aristophanes Lysistrata'' tells about the play Lysistrata unbound by aristophanes set the tone to understand the plight of women during war times....   Lysistrata unbound by Machado Machado represents one of the modern adaptations of the original play by aristophanes.... She tries to achieve this by asking the Greek women to deny their husbands' sex until an agreement reached a ceasefire (aristophanes 26)....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

The Historical Background of the Play Lysistrata by Aristophanes

The paper 'The Historical Background of the Play lysistrata by aristophanes' presents a classic Greek comedy play that is humorous, sexually explicit and bawdy.... The play lysistrata by aristophanes is a combination of intense sexual depiction and creative spirit.... This play by aristophanes happened during the 427 to 387 BCE which is in the times of Socrates and Thucydides.... aristophanes was a person who lived before Plato and he had put on at least forty plays of which eleven survived to modern times....
7 Pages (1750 words) Literature review
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us