The Women Against Euripides; The Thesmophoriazusae, Aristophanes

 Why you might read The Thesmophoriazusae?

The Thesmophoriazusae is an interesting comedy. Where Aristophanes pokes fun at Euripides. It shows that irreverence for those who came before you could be played for laughs. While he pokes fun at euripides he does also show him as cunning. In this was Euripides is more positivly portrayed than in some of Aristophanes plays. It is an easy read and while it is a minor work it is a fun part of Aristophanes' collection.

Synopsis of The Thesmophoriazusae

The play begins with Euripides speaking with his father in law. They discuss the upcoming meeting of women. The women will discuss the punishment of Euripides. As they believe he has represented them negatively in his plays.

Euripides convinces his father in law to dress as a woman. So that he can infiltrate the meeting. The meeting is at the temple and if he is caught he will be punished severely.

Euripides shaves his father in law and dresses him in a robe and headdress. He then heads off to the meeting.

The meeting opens with prayers to the gods. These are a reminder of the consequences for revealing what happens at the meeting. Euripides' father in law starts to sweat. Then the proceedings start. The women describe how the plays of Euripedes have made their husbands suspicious. They claim that this is without cause. Then his father in law pipes up with tales of how women have done even worse. He argues that the playwright is going easy on them.

Then a man arrives with news that Euripides has sent a man to infiltrate the meeting. his father in law is found out and put under guard. 

Euripides arrives to try and free his father in law. They play a raft of characters but cannot convince the guard. Then Euripides goes away and comes back dressed as an old woman with a young girl. The guard takes a shine to the girl and takes her away for sex, trusting the old woman to guard the prisoner.

Euripides frees his father in law and they flee. The guard returns and finds them gone and chases after them. 

Reflections on The Thesmophoriazusae

This play ends in what feels like a rather odd place. I expected more about them fleeing or consequences avoided. It feels a little odd to end with them getting away with it but not succeeding in what they were trying to do. But the women do know who it was. Although they escape at the end of the play they still have to live in the same city as the women they have wronged.

The audacity of the plan of Euripides' is rather on the nose. It stinks of someone who doesn't want to pay the consequences for his actions. He possibly also believes his version of women is justified. He at no point agrees with the accusations. It is also interesting that he convinces his father in law to do the deed. He does not even seem to think of going himself or convincing someone more closely related.

The lack of modesty around how they find out Euripides' father in law is a bit on the nose to a modern reader. They just have a look at his equipment. Which clears up the deception pretty quickly.

What others have to say about The Thesmophoriazusae

"The play develops from Euripides’ discovery that the women of Athens, angered by his constant attacks upon them in his tragedies, mean to discuss during their coming festival (the Thesmophoria) the question of contriving his death." From Britannica

"Although written at the time of Athens' war with Sparta, the Thesmophoriazusae is seen as the least political of Aristophanes' plays." From World History Encyclopedia

Comparisons with other Texts

In this play, Euripides is one of the two main characters. Unlike The Frogs where he is more of a minor player. Also in this play, Aristophanes is more positive about the playwright than he is in The Frogs. In the Frogs, Euripides is found to be only the third-best tragic playwright in Hades. Whereas here it is his cunning and the recitation of parts of his plays that saves the day.

This play used Euripides as a character. It even uses lines from his plays. I am unsure how true to character Euripides is in this play. There is little else in common between his works and this play. He himself was a tragedist. This play, as with all of Aristophanes work, is comedy.

Like the Assemblywomen, this play involves soemone in disguess as the opposite sex. This deception is to gain entry into a gender specific forum. In this case the man is found out. By contrast The Assmeblywomen get away with it and swing the vote towards their desired outcome.

Conclusion

This is a light hearted play, that pokes fun at Euripides and his tragedies. It is Arisophanes' least political play. It makes little direct comment about the state of affairs. Euripides is cast as a medling but brilliant instigator. His father in lawis cast as the semi-willing patsy. In all a bit of fun if minor play in Aristophanes' repotoir. 

Have you read The Thesmophoriazusae? If so what did you think of it? 

 

Want to read The Thesmophoriazusae but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

Get a copy of The Thesmophoriazusae.