Euripides’s Bacchae is a tragedy about a mother killing her son. While the plot of it is very simple, the thematic implication is what makes this play so fascinating. One of the themes in this tragedy is one about free will. Free will, or the absence of it, is a catalyst for the end result of the tragedy. Two very important mortal characters in this play, King Pentheus of Thebes and his mother Agave, are both stripped of their free will and are manipulated by Dionysus, the god of wine and madness. In Euripides’s Bacchae, the characters’ loss of their free will suggests that the absence of free will would eventually lead to the downfall of the royal family.
Firstly, Agave’s lack of free will propels the tragedy forward, which leads to the downfall of her family. Dionysus uses his divine power to rouse Agave and her sisters into a Dionysian frenzy, which strips them of their free will. Dionysus proclaims his manipulative and deceptive actions to Agave when he explains his action to the audience: “That is why I have stung …show more content…
(Bacchae 917) By yielding to Dionysus’s manipulation, he follows each one of Dionysus’s advice to go to the mountains to spy on the Maenads which results in his death. Moreover, Pentheus attempts to limit free will in Thebes eventually lead to the downfall of the royal family. From the start of the tragedy, Pentheus has been trying to impose order and limit free will in Thebes. First, Pentheus tries to imprison every Bacchus follower. (Bacchae 231-232) This demonstrates that Pentheus is trying to limit what the Bacchus follower can and cannot do, a clear violation of their free will. While he was able to imprison the Bacchants, it was only for a short amount of time as Dionysus was able to free them shortly
Firstly, Agave’s lack of free will propels the tragedy forward, which leads to the downfall of her family. Dionysus uses his divine power to rouse Agave and her sisters into a Dionysian frenzy, which strips them of their free will. Dionysus proclaims his manipulative and deceptive actions to Agave when he explains his action to the audience: “That is why I have stung …show more content…
(Bacchae 917) By yielding to Dionysus’s manipulation, he follows each one of Dionysus’s advice to go to the mountains to spy on the Maenads which results in his death. Moreover, Pentheus attempts to limit free will in Thebes eventually lead to the downfall of the royal family. From the start of the tragedy, Pentheus has been trying to impose order and limit free will in Thebes. First, Pentheus tries to imprison every Bacchus follower. (Bacchae 231-232) This demonstrates that Pentheus is trying to limit what the Bacchus follower can and cannot do, a clear violation of their free will. While he was able to imprison the Bacchants, it was only for a short amount of time as Dionysus was able to free them shortly