Iphigenia At Aulis Women

In the past women were viewed as being slaves to men. They were meant to be obedient to their husbands and to not question their authority. Few deviated from this view, unlike Euripides. Euripides wrote a play called Iphigenia at Aulis; it criticized the expectations that are given to women that suggest that they are expendable. In the play there are three main women. Helen who has no speaking parts but is a very important part of this play, Clytemnestra who is the wife of Agamemnon, and her daughter Iphigenia.
Euripides wrote about the Greek fleet that was setting to sail to Troy to retrieve Helen of Sparta. Helen was the most beautiful in the world. Her farther knew that Helen wouldn’t stay settled if she were to ever marry, so he made everyone who wasn’t her husband promise to go to war if she was ever taken from him. Although her farther did this, it didn’t give Helen permission. Women were meant to be faithful to their husbands. Helen was unlike any other women …show more content…
She was a loyal wife up until Agamemnon gave her no other choice but to be a real mom. She disobeyed Agamemnon by going to Aulis with their daughter for her “wedding”. Later in the play Clytemnestra said to Agamemnon, “What do you want? You know I’m not in the habit of disobeying you” (Euripides, p. 56). The way Clytemnestra words this means to me that she not used to disobeying him but that doesn’t mean she won’t. Disobeying a husband is one of the worst things that a wife can do, because the husband is the man; the husband is the boss of the woman. The chorus says this, “Giving birth is a mystery. It casts a powerful spell over mothers. All, all of them without exception will risk any suffering for the sake of one of their children” (Euripides, p.66). This is an example of why a prideful and respectful mother would disobey their husband. Clytemnestra is nothing like Helen except for the fact that she didn’t do as her husband