Woman Equality in the Comedy Lysistrata
Woman Equality in the Comedy Lysistrata
Lysistrata is one of the most popular of the existing Greek comedies and therefore has been of tremendous influence. The play provides insights into politics, sexual values, and family values of the time it was written. The play is not feminist but displays the sexual hypocrisy of the times and has given feminists some encouragement. One has to realize that a lot will depend upon how the production is staged. Using women, some of them naked, will get the play condemned as pornographic. Clothed women will give it a pallid look. Men dressed as women will be hilarious with nothing accepted. Dressing a man as a naked woman will be especially humorous. I believe going the route of having women dressed in regular clothing (as well as men) would be the correct route to go if you want to express the advancement of women’s equality.
There is also stinging criticism of the politics of the day. Lysistrata was focusing on a key weakness of the society. She was a social critic at a time when criticism was vital. She has inspired other women to take action. Many points in this play suggest that Lysistrata herself tries to represent women the best way she can. Other characters, at first do not agree with the sex strike, and would rather the men go to war than to have a sex strike. Lysistrata has to persuade them, stating if “they sit at home all roughed and powdered, dressed in there sheerest gowns, and neatly depilated, there men will get excited and want to take them, (lines 189-193)” if they do not do this, then the men will make truths and not go to war. The women then began to believe Lysistrata and the plot begins. The Leader of Women seems to be the representative for all the women (and possibly all women everywhere). Lysistrata herself also discusses how women also have purposes in what they do, stating that the men have forgotten that the women are “filled with passion” (line 591-592) about certain issues.
Lysistrata also tries to help the men settle the war problems at one point, showing that women can also run “states”. She explains to Magistrate how to possibly settle the war on lines 773-786, stating that they should take care of the city and turn it into a democracy. The Magistrate tries to say Lysistrata has...