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| Character | Electra | |
|---|---|---|
| Gender | Female | |
| Age Range(s) | Young Adult (20-35) | |
| Type of monologue / Character is | Angry, Scolding, Flips out, Reminiscing life story/Telling a story | |
| Type | Dramatic | |
| Period | Ancient Greek | |
| Genre | Tragedy, Drama | |
| Description | Electra's speech to Aegisthus' corpse | |
| Location | Towards end of play | |
Summary
Similar in plot to Aeschylus "The Libation Bearers" and Sophocles' Electra, the play is about Electra's and her brother Orestes' revenge against their mother Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus for having killed their father Agamemnon. The reason Clytemnestra had killed Agamemnon when he came back to Argos from the Trojan war is that Agamemnon, in order to be able to sail to Troy with his army, had been forced to sacrifice his daughter Iphigeneia to the goddess Artemis.
After Orestes and Electra are reunited after many years of separation, they decide to kill their mother and her lover. First Orestes manages to kill Aegisthus and returns with his body. In this monologue, Electra scolds Aegisthus' corpse for all the pain that he has caused her.
After Orestes and Electra are reunited after many years of separation, they decide to kill their mother and her lover. First Orestes manages to kill Aegisthus and returns with his body. In this monologue, Electra scolds Aegisthus' corpse for all the pain that he has caused her.
Written by Administrator
| Excerpt |
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| ELECTRA Enough! [Turning to the corpse of Aegisthus] With which of thy iniquities shall I begin my recital? With which shall I end it? To which allot a middle place? And yet I never ceased, as each day dawned, to rehearse the story I would tell thee to thy face, if ever I were freed from my old terrors; and now I am; so I will pay thee back with the abuse I fain had uttered to thee when alive. Thou wert my ruin, making me and my brother orphans, though we had never injured thee, and thou didst make a shameful marriage with my mother, having slain her lord who led the host of Hellas, though thyself didst never go to Troy. Such was thy folly, thou didst never dream that my mother would prove thy curse when thou didst marry her, though thou wert wronging my father's honour. Know this; whoso defiles his neighbour's wife, and afterward is forced to take her to himself, is a wretched wight, if he supposes she will be chaste as his wife, though she sinned against her former lord. Thine was a life most miserable, though thou didst pretend 'twas otherwise; well thou knewest how guilty thy marriage was, and my mother knew she had a villain for husband. Sinners both ye took each other's lot, she thy fortune, thou her curse. While everywhere in Argos thou-wouldst hear such phrases as, "that woman's husband," never "that man's wife." Yet 'tis shameful for the wife and not the man to rule the house; wherefore I loathe those children, who are called in the city not the sons of the man, their father, but of their mother. For if a man makes a great match above his rank, there is no talk of the husband but only of the wife. Herein lay thy grievous error, due to ignorance; thou thoughtest thyself some one, relying on thy wealth, but this is naught save to stay with us a space. 'Tis nature that stands fast, not wealth. For it, if it abide unchanged, exalts man's horn; but riches dishonestly acquired and in the hands of fools, soon take their flight, their blossom quickly shed. As for thy sins with women, I pass them by, 'tis not for maiden's lips to mention them, but I will shrewdly hint thereat. And then thy arrogance! because forsooth thou hadst a palace and some looks to boast. May I never have a husband with a girl's face, but one that bears him like a man! For the children of these latter cling to a life of arms, while those, who are so fair to see, do only serve to grace the dance. Away from me! [Spurning the corpse with her foot] Time has shown thy villainy, little as thou reckest of the forfeit thou hast paid for it. Let none suppose, though he have run the first stage of his course with joy, that he will get the better of justice, till he have reached the goal and ended his career. |
