Whatever their differences, Electra and Clytemnestra share a common vision of the nature of justice. When the chorus of maidens in the Libation Bearers instruct Electra about what she should say in prayer over the grave of her father, they tell her to ask for someone to kill her Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. When she is hesitant, they say: "May you not hurt your enemy, when he struck first?" (122). Convinced by this, Electra prays to her father: "I pray that your avenger come, that they who killed you shall be killed in turn, as they deserve" (143-4).
In the Agamemnon, Clytemnestra justifies her actions this way: "No shame, I think, in the death given this man. And did he not first of all in this house wreak death by treachery? The flower of this man's love and mine, Iphigeneia of the tears he dealt with even as he has suffered. Let his speech in death's house be not loud. With the sword he paid for his own act" (Ag., 1521-1529).
What is the nature of this conception of justice? What are its social, political, personal ramifications?
In thinking about these questions, listen to the story of Guffran, the nine year old girl in Baghdad whose father was killed in a carjacking:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6043673
How does Guffran's reaction to the death of her father compare with Electra's response to the death of hers?
The Libation Bearers concludes with these words from the Chorus: "Where is the end? Where shall the fury of fate be stilled to sleep, be done with?" (1074-76) Retributive justice perpetuates a vicious cycle of violence...where is the end? This question finds some response in the Eumenides.
Leave a comment