Jacob Wilkins
Leonard Grissom
DRAM 3080
February 15, 2016
An Analysis of Lysistrata Lysistrata is a farcical play that depicts a world where women combat the barbaric tendencies to which their male counterparts are drawn. They combat these tendencies with humanity’s other base desire: sex. To quote the great Oscar Wilde, “Everything in the world is about sex except sex. Sex is about power.” A war-torn land, angry citizens, the battle of the sexes, defiance of the patriarchy, sexual cravings, and enough suspense and humor to pack a wallop—it’s all here for the world to watch. The prologue begins with Lysistrata, our titular character, raving about the Peloponnesian War—which is currently raging on—in the streets of Athens. She mentions Bacchos,…show more content… The helplessness that these women feel day in and day out as their men fight in a faraway place—and perhaps die—is a feeling that these women will naturally want to feel liberated from. It can also be argued that they are fighting for their own freedom of speech. By taking such a stand, these women are stating that their opinions are valid and, thus, are worthy of men’s ears. While their stand obviously is fighting for a different political goal, there is a clear irritation amongst women that stems from the fact that their opinions aren’t normally considered. It’s even apparent from the first lines of the play when Lysistrata regards her fellow women. In the first scene, when Kalonike, the first woman to arrive at the rally, tells Lysistrata to not frown for fear that it will “ruin her face,” she responds fiercely. “Never mind my face. / Kalonike, / the way we women behave! / Really, I don’t blame / the men / for what they say about us.” While this quip of hers definitely sounds like she sympathizes with the male position regarding the validity of women’s opinions—which may also indicate that Aristophanes does as well—she does expose that men do not hold the opinions of women in high regard, which also elaborates on the viewpoint of the protagonists in this story. This line not only serves as exposition for the political climate in the stasis, but it also elaborates on the characters and helps to explain…show more content… Once Myrrhine concludes her power play with Kinesias, another man, sharing the same anguish of sex deprivation happens upon Kinesias. It just so happens that he is also a Spartan. This is when they decide to call off the war and make a peace deal. When the leaders of both Sparta and Athens meet to discuss a peace deal, Lysistrata helps them. A goddess, one of Reconciliation, helps them reach the conclusion necessary for both sides to prosper. All the strings are now tied up—the war is over, the heroine was successful, and men and women can now have sex with nothing to hold them back.
The play concludes with the warring sides celebrating together. Their differences are settled, all thanks to Lysistrata’s plan to cure the land. They drink, they dance, and they’re happy. Lysistrata, that meddling woman, has saved the day.
But has anything changed? The war is over, but are they assured that it will never happen again? The war was not one that resulted in a realization—the white flag was not waved due to a moral implication or a sudden epiphany. The war ended because of coercion from an outside party. And after the war is over, when they all celebrate, one can’t help but wonder if this is only temporary. And when the curtain closes, a new stasis is established: one of a temporary fix to a larger problem. Does war rise again? One may never
