Literature As Anthropoligical Evidence

Upon seeing the play version of The Trojan Women I thought I possessed a fairly accurate knowledge of the themes and biases communicated to the audience. Yet, after reading the text of The Trojan Women those preconceived notions vanished. Though the plot lines remained essentially congruent, I found that the messages and worldviews portrayed in each medium intersected tangentially, providing intriguing commentaries regarding the development of Western societies.

The play struck me as very feminist, combined with hints of philosophical meandering into questions regarding the value of life. I thought the most obviously symbolic characterization of the play was Menelaus as dithering and malleable. He represented the powerful man whose only claim to the power was his gender. He seemed like a puppy trying to decide which master to follow, Helen or Hecuba. While Helen’s phonotypical powers as a seductress are detailed exhaustively, the ostensible reason for the entire Trojan War, Hecuba also emanated a regal power greater than Menelaus. Hecuba’s resilience in the face of inconceivable grief, retention of her sanity, strength to attempt to console her priest and Andromache and intelligence to fight Helen impressed me. She quickly gained Menelaus’ attention with her words and staved off the Greek herald with impassioned imploring. The herald symbolized another stereotypical weak male: the simple brute. Both Helen and Hecuba could toy with men at will. Obviously, a massive difference between the two versions of The Trojan Women is the manner of the death of Astynanax. The modern adaptation of his death constitutes an important anthropological distinction between our current society and our ancient origins. Today, we are interested in questions regarding pain, the absolute negativity of death and moral relativism regarding times of extraordinary circumstances. In ancient Greece his death was unfortunate but logical, in concert with a very practical set of moral values.

In brief contrast, the textual version focused on the interplay between fate and agency (Helen’s argument vs. Hecuba’s) as well as the notion of people of high standing brought low in an instant (the peripeteia of Troy, Hecuba ect…).