The Destruction of Pentheus In Euripides’ “The Bacchae,” Dionysus, disguised as a man, goes out to Thebes to assert his rights and gain respect from those who do not acknowledge him as a god. He encounters Pentheus, king of Thebes, still in an adolescent stage and fearful of femininity, something that Dionysus’ worship revolves around. In The Menace of Dionysus: Sex Roles and Reversals in Euripides’ Bacchae, Charles Segal explains why men were so fearful of the out of control woman and how that affected Pentheus, his growth and ultimate destruction: the destruction not only of Pentheus but the whole society. Segal claims that Dionysus is a threat to Pentheus because he affects Pentheus’ masculinity and ability to transition into adulthood;
…show more content…
Dionysus has the ability to be one thing and its opposite simultaneously: according to segal, he embodies childhood and adulthood and male and female. Dionysus does not identify as a child or an adult but is “somewhere in between as the eternal adolescent,” (Segal 187). Pentheus is trying to achieve “adult male warrior” status (Segal 191). He believes can only get to adulthood if he rejects his female qualities. In Segal’s views, “[Dionysus] has the force and energy of a man, but the grace, charm, soft beauty and seductiveness of a girl” (191). In other words, Segal believes, Dionysus, through his feminine qualities, poses a threat to the rigid masculine system Pentheus assumes is necessary to achieve manhood. Pentheus sees the male and female as two separate entities that must be kept isolated from one another in order for the male to grow. This is proven in “The Bacchae” when Euripides shows Pentheus describing Dionysus as “attractive” (453) and having “fair skin” (456); Pentheus even refers to Dionysus’ hair as “girlish curls” (492). In these instances, Pentheus is mocking Dionysus’ feminine qualities. Pentheus is astonished and threatened that Dionysus has many female characteristics when he identifies the stranger with a …show more content…
For Pentheus, being a man means having total control of others. To the ruler of Thebes, the protector of law and order, the new coming stranger is barbaric and a threat to the well being of society. Therefore, if he allows Dionysus to overthrow the palace, he is not only destroying Pentheus but his “political authority” too. Pentheus is the head of a tightly controlled society with a strict structure. So it’s not surprising, when pentheus hears of the stranger, he orders to have him arrested. There is no room in his kingdom for someone who cannot be imprisoned or controlled by him. Dionysus threatens Pentheus’ ability to lead because he allowed the women to leave the structure of the city walls. The women have “disgraced . . . [and] humiliated” him (779). The fact that they are so easily able to defeat the men can be depicted as a reflection of Pentheus’ impotence as a ruler. He can not allow merely woman to go against his order. Because, if he does, this may result in him being seen as an unreliable leader unable to protect civic order of the society which would cause his people to go against him. When Pentheus first hears of the women going outside the city to frolic in the woods, he proclaims, “In no time at all I shall have them trapped in iron nets and stop
Dionysus has the ability to be one thing and its opposite simultaneously: according to segal, he embodies childhood and adulthood and male and female. Dionysus does not identify as a child or an adult but is “somewhere in between as the eternal adolescent,” (Segal 187). Pentheus is trying to achieve “adult male warrior” status (Segal 191). He believes can only get to adulthood if he rejects his female qualities. In Segal’s views, “[Dionysus] has the force and energy of a man, but the grace, charm, soft beauty and seductiveness of a girl” (191). In other words, Segal believes, Dionysus, through his feminine qualities, poses a threat to the rigid masculine system Pentheus assumes is necessary to achieve manhood. Pentheus sees the male and female as two separate entities that must be kept isolated from one another in order for the male to grow. This is proven in “The Bacchae” when Euripides shows Pentheus describing Dionysus as “attractive” (453) and having “fair skin” (456); Pentheus even refers to Dionysus’ hair as “girlish curls” (492). In these instances, Pentheus is mocking Dionysus’ feminine qualities. Pentheus is astonished and threatened that Dionysus has many female characteristics when he identifies the stranger with a …show more content…
For Pentheus, being a man means having total control of others. To the ruler of Thebes, the protector of law and order, the new coming stranger is barbaric and a threat to the well being of society. Therefore, if he allows Dionysus to overthrow the palace, he is not only destroying Pentheus but his “political authority” too. Pentheus is the head of a tightly controlled society with a strict structure. So it’s not surprising, when pentheus hears of the stranger, he orders to have him arrested. There is no room in his kingdom for someone who cannot be imprisoned or controlled by him. Dionysus threatens Pentheus’ ability to lead because he allowed the women to leave the structure of the city walls. The women have “disgraced . . . [and] humiliated” him (779). The fact that they are so easily able to defeat the men can be depicted as a reflection of Pentheus’ impotence as a ruler. He can not allow merely woman to go against his order. Because, if he does, this may result in him being seen as an unreliable leader unable to protect civic order of the society which would cause his people to go against him. When Pentheus first hears of the women going outside the city to frolic in the woods, he proclaims, “In no time at all I shall have them trapped in iron nets and stop