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Women on the Edge: Four Plays
Women on the Edge , a collection of Alcestis, Medea, Helen, and Iphegenia at Aulis, provides a broad sample of Euripides' plays focusing on women, and spans the chronology of his surviving works, from the earliest, to his last, incomplete, and posthumously produced masterpiece. Each play shows women in various roles--slave, unmarried girl, devoted wife, alienated wife, mother, daughter--providing a range of evidence about the kinds of meaning and effects the category woman conveyed in ancient Athens. The female protagonists in these plays test the boundaries--literal and conceptual--of their lives.
Although women are often represented in tragedy as powerful and free in their thoughts, speech and actions, real Athenian women were apparently expected to live unseen and silent, under control of fathers and husbands, with little political or economic power. Women in tragedy often disrupt "normal" life by their words and they speak out boldly, tell lies, cause public unrest, violate custom, defy orders, even kill. Female characters in tragedy take actions, and raise issues central to the plays in which they appear, sometimes in strong opposition to male characters. The four plays in this collection offer examples of women who support the status quo and women who oppose and disrupt it; sometimes these are the same characters.
Although women are often represented in tragedy as powerful and free in their thoughts, speech and actions, real Athenian women were apparently expected to live unseen and silent, under control of fathers and husbands, with little political or economic power. Women in tragedy often disrupt "normal" life by their words and they speak out boldly, tell lies, cause public unrest, violate custom, defy orders, even kill. Female characters in tragedy take actions, and raise issues central to the plays in which they appear, sometimes in strong opposition to male characters. The four plays in this collection offer examples of women who support the status quo and women who oppose and disrupt it; sometimes these are the same characters.
512 pages, Paperback
First published December 22, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 22, 2021
Most of the Greek tragedies that survive today were written in the 5th century BC for the sole purpose of performance in the Athenian Great Dionysia festival.
Just before dawn, thousands of people would settle in for the day in the open-air theatre. Excitement would be palpable in the air as they'd wait in anticipation- for the plays were not just regular performances but part of a massive competition. These tragedy competitions, second only to athletic competitions, were the primary form of entertainment in ancient Greece. The frequent winners of these competitions held an honourable status in society, and their names and plays were well-known in every Greek household.
Watching Greek drama was a collective experience that is unparalleled in today's times. Unlike the dimly lit modern theatres where all the focus is on the stage, the ancient plays were performed in broad daylight with the audience surrounding the performance area. The crowd was rambunctious, and their vocal (and sometimes bodily) reactions to the plays were very much part of the performance. Today, when we read the text, we miss out on much of the flavour that shaped the genre. Yet, there is a lot to learn simply from the writing alone.
Of the three great Greek tragedians, Euripides has the most number of surviving plays. This volume comprises four tragedies by him including Alcestis, his first extant work and Iphigenia at Aulis, his last and posthumously produced play. It has a blend of everything, from vengeance to infanticide, from treachery to self-sacrifice.
These translations were perfectly accessible for someone like me, who has a passing knowledge of the myths but certainly no expertise. Being my first time reading Greek tragedy, the context provided by the translators was much appreciated. The book begins with an extensive study of Athens and Athenian life, and a more specific introduction to each of the four plays. The introduction elaborates upon the prevalent norms and beliefs of the time while analysing how Euripides challenged them in his works.
Women were frequently the subject of tragedy. In fact, in all of the four plays included in this volume, women are pivotal (as the titles surely suggest). In the strictly patriarchal society of Athens, real Athenian women were barely seen, heard or spoken of. Why, then, are female characters so important in tragedy? We examine this and other gender-based questions through the lens of a feminist. The ancient Greek ideology provided a dichotomic framework by which to view the world- slaves/non-slaves, male/female, Greek/Barbarian, etc. But the fact that women in Greek drama were played by cross-dressed male actors reinforces that these imposed gender roles were not natural but performative. That gender is fluid and a woman can be manly like Medea, or a man effeminate like Menelaus.
Aristotle said that Sophocles portrayed people "as they ought to be" and Euripides "as they are". His iconoclastic ideas pushed boundaries and commanded attention. His views were shocking and often unpopular. For this reason, he was more unsuccessful in his lifetime than Sophocles or Aeschylus. He was criticised and even parodied. But the modern audience lauds his enriched insight on human psychology and his questioning of traditional beliefs. Although the notes were sometimes redundant, the four translators did a brilliant job at making the classical texts interpretable even for people unfamiliar with them.
Just before dawn, thousands of people would settle in for the day in the open-air theatre. Excitement would be palpable in the air as they'd wait in anticipation- for the plays were not just regular performances but part of a massive competition. These tragedy competitions, second only to athletic competitions, were the primary form of entertainment in ancient Greece. The frequent winners of these competitions held an honourable status in society, and their names and plays were well-known in every Greek household.
Watching Greek drama was a collective experience that is unparalleled in today's times. Unlike the dimly lit modern theatres where all the focus is on the stage, the ancient plays were performed in broad daylight with the audience surrounding the performance area. The crowd was rambunctious, and their vocal (and sometimes bodily) reactions to the plays were very much part of the performance. Today, when we read the text, we miss out on much of the flavour that shaped the genre. Yet, there is a lot to learn simply from the writing alone.
Of the three great Greek tragedians, Euripides has the most number of surviving plays. This volume comprises four tragedies by him including Alcestis, his first extant work and Iphigenia at Aulis, his last and posthumously produced play. It has a blend of everything, from vengeance to infanticide, from treachery to self-sacrifice.
These translations were perfectly accessible for someone like me, who has a passing knowledge of the myths but certainly no expertise. Being my first time reading Greek tragedy, the context provided by the translators was much appreciated. The book begins with an extensive study of Athens and Athenian life, and a more specific introduction to each of the four plays. The introduction elaborates upon the prevalent norms and beliefs of the time while analysing how Euripides challenged them in his works.
Women were frequently the subject of tragedy. In fact, in all of the four plays included in this volume, women are pivotal (as the titles surely suggest). In the strictly patriarchal society of Athens, real Athenian women were barely seen, heard or spoken of. Why, then, are female characters so important in tragedy? We examine this and other gender-based questions through the lens of a feminist. The ancient Greek ideology provided a dichotomic framework by which to view the world- slaves/non-slaves, male/female, Greek/Barbarian, etc. But the fact that women in Greek drama were played by cross-dressed male actors reinforces that these imposed gender roles were not natural but performative. That gender is fluid and a woman can be manly like Medea, or a man effeminate like Menelaus.
Aristotle said that Sophocles portrayed people "as they ought to be" and Euripides "as they are". His iconoclastic ideas pushed boundaries and commanded attention. His views were shocking and often unpopular. For this reason, he was more unsuccessful in his lifetime than Sophocles or Aeschylus. He was criticised and even parodied. But the modern audience lauds his enriched insight on human psychology and his questioning of traditional beliefs. Although the notes were sometimes redundant, the four translators did a brilliant job at making the classical texts interpretable even for people unfamiliar with them.
March 11, 2020
I appreciate the lengthy intro with lots of information on cultural context; each play also has a robust intro, and everything is heavily footnoted. Of the three, I'd only read Medea before. The other plays included are Alcestis (in which a wife sacrifices her life for her husband's and Hercules successfully retrieves her from death), Helen (in which Paris has taken with him a simulacrum of Helen and the real Helen has been living in Egypt during the war), and Iphigenia at Aulis (in which Iphigenia willingly sacrifices herself for the glory of Greece).
A surprising number of typos and other errors in this book; I read it online through my uni library; I wonder if the paper copy has this many errors.
A surprising number of typos and other errors in this book; I read it online through my uni library; I wonder if the paper copy has this many errors.
December 15, 2019
Really good
February 18, 2020
I particularly enjoyed Blondell's and Gamel's translations (of Medea and IA), and I thought their essays and notes were impressive! The analyses were interesting, relevant, and informative, providing context and a lot of ideas about gender in Greek society and Euripides' dramatic techniques that I hadn't read about before. Because I'm already familiar with the topic/plays and because the introduction section contains some extended versions of passages from Blondell's Theban Plays, some material was redundant for me. Nonetheless, I'm real glad to own this book because I'll definitely be referring back to it in the future.
July 17, 2015
I picked up this book on a recommendation from a friend who is in the midst of a Greek tragedy extravaganza. She's been reading The Iliad and read part of this book in line with it. What caught my interest was her description of Euripides' Helen, which explores the idea that perhaps Helen was not in Troy. Perhaps the woman in Troy was a facsimile of her. If this was the case, what kind of life would the real Helen be living tucked away in a far-off land, knowing that a war was being fought over her but never knowing the specifics? I was intrigued.
I'd never read Euripides, and I have a solid lay knowledge of Greek myth but I am certainly no classicist. This volume of four of Euripides' surviving tragedies is perfectly interpretable for someone like me with an interest and passing knowledge of the subject at hand but no expertise. Drawing from their feminist traditions, the authors root each of the plays firmly in the socio-cultural context in which they developed: the book begins with an in-depth historical survey of Athens and Athenian life at the time Euripides was writing his plays, and a more specific and detailed historical analysis is presented as an introduction for each of the four plays (Alcestis, Medea, Helen and Iphigenia at Aulis). I was expecting the introductions to be dry, and to be either pitched too low or too high for me in terms of content, but the introductions are well-organized, and therefore clear and easily navigable, well-written, and comprehensive in terms of the depth and breadth of information presented.
The translations of the plays themselves were obviously done with care. They read well, and they read easily. There seemed to be little attempt to 'prettify' the language, to make the dialogue stately and stuffy, which I appreciated. The text of the plays read simply and clearly on their own, but each play is extensively footnoted with additional information which fills the reader in on references or pieces of context which we may have missed. I, myself, compulsively read footnotes when the tiny superscript number interrupt the flow of text, which meant I was flipping back and forth between the play and the appendices of the book several times per page, which was kind of annoying, but if you are the kind who can pass over a footnote without your curiosity getting the better of you then this won't present a problem to you--the footnotes are interesting, but you can follow the plot of the play easily without them.
The feminist analysis of each play was fascinating. The authors' introductions provide the context for both the plays themselves, but also social constructions of gender in ancient Athens. The fact that women characters in Greek drama were played by male actors is pointed to more than once; each of these four lead female characters can be interpreted and understood through multiple lenses at once. Their prominence breaks boundaries since Athenian women were largely sequestered, but given that they are written by a male playwright and portrayed by make actors, how much of a hidden women's narrative are they really part of? The lead characters themselves present a range of idealized female archetypes: Alcestis as the self-sacrificing best iteration of womanhood; Medea as the aggressive and selfish wronged bride; Helen as the 'bad' woman, the unfaithful whore (who is paradoxically actually faithful); and Iphigenia, a young and naive woman who sacrifices her innocence for the goals of the men around her. While each of these plays present some crystallization of either good or bad womanhood according to ancient Athenian customs, Euripides writes each as a smart, commanding strong presence, and each has a deeply unique and individual voice.
I highly recommend this book. As I read it, I found myself retelling each of the plays with urgency and gusto to anyone who would listen (and you would be surprised how many people would willingly listen to me do that; I have patient friends). It's also pushed me to read or revisit retellings of Greek myths, specifically Weight, Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad and Ursula K. Le Guin's Lavinia.
I'd never read Euripides, and I have a solid lay knowledge of Greek myth but I am certainly no classicist. This volume of four of Euripides' surviving tragedies is perfectly interpretable for someone like me with an interest and passing knowledge of the subject at hand but no expertise. Drawing from their feminist traditions, the authors root each of the plays firmly in the socio-cultural context in which they developed: the book begins with an in-depth historical survey of Athens and Athenian life at the time Euripides was writing his plays, and a more specific and detailed historical analysis is presented as an introduction for each of the four plays (Alcestis, Medea, Helen and Iphigenia at Aulis). I was expecting the introductions to be dry, and to be either pitched too low or too high for me in terms of content, but the introductions are well-organized, and therefore clear and easily navigable, well-written, and comprehensive in terms of the depth and breadth of information presented.
The translations of the plays themselves were obviously done with care. They read well, and they read easily. There seemed to be little attempt to 'prettify' the language, to make the dialogue stately and stuffy, which I appreciated. The text of the plays read simply and clearly on their own, but each play is extensively footnoted with additional information which fills the reader in on references or pieces of context which we may have missed. I, myself, compulsively read footnotes when the tiny superscript number interrupt the flow of text, which meant I was flipping back and forth between the play and the appendices of the book several times per page, which was kind of annoying, but if you are the kind who can pass over a footnote without your curiosity getting the better of you then this won't present a problem to you--the footnotes are interesting, but you can follow the plot of the play easily without them.
The feminist analysis of each play was fascinating. The authors' introductions provide the context for both the plays themselves, but also social constructions of gender in ancient Athens. The fact that women characters in Greek drama were played by male actors is pointed to more than once; each of these four lead female characters can be interpreted and understood through multiple lenses at once. Their prominence breaks boundaries since Athenian women were largely sequestered, but given that they are written by a male playwright and portrayed by make actors, how much of a hidden women's narrative are they really part of? The lead characters themselves present a range of idealized female archetypes: Alcestis as the self-sacrificing best iteration of womanhood; Medea as the aggressive and selfish wronged bride; Helen as the 'bad' woman, the unfaithful whore (who is paradoxically actually faithful); and Iphigenia, a young and naive woman who sacrifices her innocence for the goals of the men around her. While each of these plays present some crystallization of either good or bad womanhood according to ancient Athenian customs, Euripides writes each as a smart, commanding strong presence, and each has a deeply unique and individual voice.
I highly recommend this book. As I read it, I found myself retelling each of the plays with urgency and gusto to anyone who would listen (and you would be surprised how many people would willingly listen to me do that; I have patient friends). It's also pushed me to read or revisit retellings of Greek myths, specifically Weight, Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad and Ursula K. Le Guin's Lavinia.
December 1, 2007
Four plays by Euripides--Alcestis, Medea, Helen, and Iphigenia at Aulis--with commentary. The essays, including a general historical introduction, are definitely good and informative, and help explain the significance of each play and how they may have been received by their Greek audiences.
November 17, 2018
This collection of translations was very well put together. All of the introductory information for the collection as a whole and to each individual play was very informative and accessible whether this was your first time reading Greek tragedies or not.
February 27, 2008
Excellent translation.
October 8, 2014
I've only read Medea from this book so far, for a class called Greece and Gender.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews