The Eumenides

Every spring, Union puts on a significant drama presentation directed by one of my favorite teachers, Mark Robison. This year they are putting on The Eumenides, and my friend Katie Lechler is the associate director. Angela and I got front row, center tickets for Thursday, which was opening night.

I'd never seen or read The Eumenedies before, and have very little experience with Greek drama, but I found that I wasn't lost at all. I feel that I grasped many of the main points of the play. The story details a transition from old-world to new-world justice. I "got" a lot of that. I see the reason and value the author was trying to point out when detailing the supposed origins of the Greek justice system, which led to the court systems that we use in America today. The Eumenides really tackles the intricate nuances of vengeance and justice. It discusses themes that I think are important to think about.

The story, in short, is about a man named Orestes, who was instructed by the god Apollo to murder the person who killed his father. That person happened to be his mother; he stabbed her through the heart. At that time in ancient Greece, justice against mortals who killed a blood relative was carried out by the Furies. They set about to find and inflict vengeance upon Orestes. But Orestes appealed to Apollo and Athena for their protection. The two gods intervened on Orestes behalf. Athena solved the problem by creating an Athenian court system made up of twelve citizens of Athens; when their vote was split, her vote in Orestes favor left him free and clear. She then persuaded the Furies that her new justice system was better, and they became the Eumenides, or "kindly ones."

The Furies made the whole play. I have very rarely seen such good acting out of amateurs. Their makeup, costuming, and hair were beautifully-done and convincing. Their acting was superb. They were this incredible blend of feminine sensuality, confidence, and power. They exuded these attributes in every movement and word. I was so sucked into them that I missed a lot of the dialogue of the other characters.

What especially struck me about the Furies was their femininity. They were considerably sexual, but aside from that aspect, many of their qualities were ones traditionally attributed to males. They were strong, powerful, vengeful, wild, determined, violent. And yet they embodied such a sensual, strong femininity. They were a kind of woman that doesn't exist in this world.

At the end of the play, graceful, golden Athena convinces the Furies that they are better off making a home in a cave, spending their days blessing the births of noble children and the harvests of peasants. They become goddesses of peace and blessing instead of vengeance and violence. And ordinarily, I wholeheartedly promote blessings and peace over violence and vengeance. But the ending of The Eumenides broke my heart a little.

The Furies were tamed when they became good. They made a home in a warm cave. They were domesticated. Whether or not the story actually intended it to seem that way, they appeared to me to lose their spirits. Their power and strength diminished. They became less attractive, sensual, beautiful, purposeful, and meaningful.

And it made me wonder if, consciously or otherwise, the author of the play has given us a commentary on femininity the world over. Was there a time in earth's history that women packed that kind of punch? Is it possible that woman could at one time choose to be a Fury instead of a Homemaker--and keep her respect, her allure? Women today who embody the kind of qualities that the Furies do are seen as less feminine. Women are not expected (or encouraged) to be powerful, strong, feral, determined, independent, forceful, or willful. Those who are certainly aren't often seen as attractive, sexual, feminine beings (Hillary Clinton, anyone? She's rather fury-like, sans sexual allure, and is often thought of as downright bitchy).

Another interesting note is that, although the Furies were powerful and glorious, their strength didn't threaten that of [male] Apollo.

Was there a time when a woman could be powerful and attractive and determined and wild and respected, all at the same time, without being a threat to man? Are Athena and her just scales responsible for the domestication and oppression of women? Do we have ancient Greece to blame for the fact that femininity and Fury have been disconnected?