Sex In Sigmund Freud's Lysistrata

For all of human history, females have fulfilled one of two major roles in society. The first is the mother-figure. This is the woman that starts out as a maiden belonging first to her father, then to her husband. In literature this is what women should aspire to — this is the prize that the hero gets at the end of his physical and moral journey. The other category of women is the harlot. This is a sexual figure that appeals to man’s baser desires. In society, that dichotomy gives rise to the traditional notion that lust is a lesser evil; it is something that the civilized man must overcome in order to be the best man that he can be. This is seen in more than just literature and other media — prostitution is referred to as the world’s oldest profession and yet is illegal in most places and heavily regulated in others. Sigmund Freud references man’s instinctual needs. His idea of id is personified in the temptress. This motif, seen across cultures and time, is a …show more content…
The literary device fails if women are not so beautiful that it fills the hero with such lust, that he makes bad decisions. The women of Lysistrata use that inherent power of the female body to make the men in their lives make good decisions. sex and their bodies to make the men stop fighting in an endless war. Though it is played up for comedy, Lysistrata, shows a unique viewpoint. Calonice and the other women don’t just want to have sex to please their husbands. They enjoy sex, as much as their husbands. That fact is what makes it so hard for the women to continue their sex strike against their husbands. Lysistrata is revolutionary in that aspect —The women are not vilified for enjoying sex, in fact their plan only works because they do. So while the Lysistrata and the other women are decried as temptresses, they subvert the traditional temptress role. In giving in to the women, the men can then make decisions that will best for all those