This research endeavours to explain that the stories of legendary women of the past should not be neglected, since they provide valid examples that clarify the reasons for female exclusion from power. Moreover, it is therefore also natural to wonder why their femininity was ripped away from them. Antigone, Clytemnestra and Medea are criminals, and their outrageous actions go against natural and positive law. They are not women. Furthermore, in order to give them back their womanhood, they must be disempowered. Further reflections will seek to find answers to the main question of the research: how can their stories contribute to explain women’s exclusion from power today?
History demonstrated to be the theatre of the oppressed, the stage in which the characters have proved to excel in abusing and taking advantage of the losers of the game, the oppressed. Among them lie women, who have certainly always been kept in the back row during men’s performance. More specifically, women were and are still taken away from the power, a matter that has ultimately been reserved exclusively for manhood.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Hegel’s Sittlichkeit and Bachofen’s maternal law: Antigone
3. Clytemnestra and Medea’s fury: against natural law for justice
4. Penelope’s silent rebellion
5. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Key Topics
This work aims to investigate the historical and mythological reasons for the exclusion of women from power by analyzing how ancient female figures—portrayed as monstrous or submissive—actually struggle for natural law. The research seeks to bridge the gap between ancient myths and modern understandings of gendered power structures through a philosophical and literary lens.
- Analysis of the collision between natural (maternal/chthonic) law and positive (masculine/state) law.
- Exploration of Antigone, Medea, and Clytemnestra as rebels against patriarchal authority.
- Examination of Penelope’s domestic space as a site of silent, subversive resistance.
- Evaluation of how mythic portrayals reinforce the "monstrous" label for women who attempt to hold power.
Excerpt from the Book
Clytemnestra and Medea’s fury: against natural law for justice
“Backward flow streams of holy rivers and justice, and all things are being turned back”31. Euripides’ lines perfectly depicted an unrighteous truth and bequeathed to our modern world a situation that has not entirely evolved, in which the sacred feminine justice and chthonic law are hard to achieve. The protagonist of his play is a monster, a woman that committed the most dreadful crimes, Medea is a beast. She is the murderer of Glauce, who was the cause of her husband’s rejection and madness, Jason, and Creon. However, her vengeance is completed only when she makes an outrageous decision: she kills the children that she fathered with Jason.
Mythology portrays Clytemnestra as an agent of evil as well. Betrayed by her husband Agamemnon, who sacrifices their daughter and brings home princess Cassandra from the trojan war, she takes revenge and assassinates them. Clytemnestra is, as well as Medea, ultimately a masculine character: in Aeschylus’s tragedy she represents a completely deranged man and a homicidal maniac. However, in Oresteia she attempts to overturn the patriarchal model of society to a matriarchal one, in which she refuses to accept her husband’s subjugation and moreover, she does not renounce her sexuality during the period when her husband is absent32. The rebellion of Clytemnestra and Medea fundamentally allows them to forsake their female roles in their misogynist societies. When they assume power, they subsequently terminate to be women33.
Chapter Summaries
Introduction: This chapter introduces the ongoing struggle of women against patriarchal systems by referencing the ancient world as a foundation for understanding modern gender inequalities.
Hegel’s Sittlichkeit and Bachofen’s maternal law: Antigone: The author explores the dichotomy between chthonic maternal law and state-imposed masculine law, using Antigone’s act of burying her brother as a primary case study of moral rebellion.
Clytemnestra and Medea’s fury: against natural law for justice: This section analyzes the "monstrous" actions of Medea and Clytemnestra as extreme, desperate responses to the violation of their natural rights and patriarchal betrayal.
Penelope’s silent rebellion: The chapter argues that Penelope’s weaving and domestic seclusion serve as a subtle, subversive rejection of the patriarchal order, reclaiming power through silence rather than outward violence.
Conclusion: The final chapter synthesizes the findings, asserting that mythology consistently labels rebellious women as irrational or monstrous to justify their continued exclusion from political power.
Keywords
Mythology, Natural Law, Maternal Law, Patriarchy, Femininity, Antigone, Medea, Clytemnestra, Penelope, Gender, Power, Justice, Sittlichkeit, Rebellion, Ancient Greece.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this work?
The work explores how ancient mythological narratives have been used historically to define and constrain women's roles, specifically examining how figures like Antigone, Medea, Clytemnestra, and Penelope represent different facets of rebellion against patriarchal structures.
What are the central themes of the research?
The central themes include the conflict between natural (chthonic) law and positive (man-made) law, the concept of female rebellion, and the interpretation of femininity in the context of political and social power.
What is the core research question?
The research asks how the stories of legendary women from the past can help explain the persistent exclusion of women from power in contemporary society.
Which scientific methods are utilized?
The author employs a qualitative, analytical approach, synthesizing philosophical concepts from thinkers like Hegel and Bachofen with literary criticism of Greek tragedies and the Odyssey.
What topics are covered in the main body?
The body chapters cover the philosophical grounding of maternal law, the aggressive rebellion of Medea and Clytemnestra, and the silent, subtle resistance exhibited by Penelope.
How would you characterize this work using keywords?
Key terms include Natural Law, Patriarchy, Mythology, Femininity, and Rebellion, as these capture the essence of the arguments presented regarding female agency and exclusion.
How does the author interpret Medea's violent actions?
The author suggests that while Medea's actions are presented as monstrous and unnatural, they are fundamentally driven by her frustration and the violation of her natural rights by her husband, Jason.
Why is Penelope considered a rebel by the author?
Penelope is viewed as a rebel because she utilizes her domestic space and her craft (weaving) to isolate herself from the patriarchal order, effectively maintaining a degree of independence despite her outward appearance of submission.
What is the significance of the "law of the shadows" in the text?
The "law of the shadows" refers to the chthonic, maternal law that exists prior to and independently of the artificial, masculine laws of the state, serving as the basis for the protagonists' moral claims.
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- Francesca Ceserani (Autor:in), 2019, The Mythological Pursuit of Justice. Legendary Women of the past and female exclusion from power today, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/584843
