Being An Aristocratic Wife Analysis

Being an Aristocratic wife in Athens is not always the easiest thing to deal with. We must listen to our husbands at all times and not question their ideas and beliefs. The idea that men make the orders and we follow was put into our brains at the very beginning. We are not supposed to argue with any idea of our husbands’ and quietly be content with our lives. I never gave much thought to the matter until the other women made me. Given this, I was surprised when a few other Aristocratic wives showed up at my door and asked me to sneak in to see the play with them. They told me that I would not get caught, but I would have an experience. I had never even thought of the possibility of sneaking out to do something looked down upon. We hardly ever …show more content…
I felt like a rebel running from the law without a care in the world. As the play started, I do not think it was what any of us were expecting. The play had a very anti-war message which I did not expect to see and a pro-women idea as well. The story was mainly about how the wives of the Aristocratic men rose up together and stood up for what they wanted. The women were tired of sending their sons off to war only to be killed, and so they held their ground until they got what they wanted. At the end of the play, the main Aristocratic wife, Lysistrata, was well respected, and the men actually asked her for advice when it came to the war. These topics are not typically allowed to be discussed, in the home, or anywhere. If these topics were discussed at the assembly, the whole Athenian system would fall apart. However, the playwright, Aristophanes, talked about these topics using humor throughout the play which created a light mood. Somehow it became okay to talk about such things if it refers to them in a joking matter. I think that Aristophanes was trying to get a message across without being too direct with awkward topics. At first I felt a little uncomfortable talking about such things that were strictly forbidden considering us women were to never talk about them, but then I grew to realize that there was much truth in what the women were …show more content…
I wanted to see what he would say thinking that I had not gone. He said that it was about war, and it was funny. Then he began to talk about the subject of the Aristocratic women in the play taking power. He said that the play was funny, and something unusual, but very unrealistic. He explained that it would be impossible for the Aristocratic wives to actually take control of the city like that. I wanted to argue with him, but I was afraid he might lash out at me. I started thinking: maybe he was right. It might be completely unrealistic for women to do such a thing. Besides, a woman’s place is in the home. As I was thinking about it more, I realized that we snuck out today to see the play, did what we wanted, and did not get caught. If that is possible, standing up for our positions on war is a totally plausible