Character of Electra in Sophocles & Euripides

Different approaches to the characterization of Electra have been noted by various commentators. Podlecki does not even confine his discussion of Electra to Euripides and Sophocles but notes Aeschylus's use of Electra as a subsidiary character in theChoephoroe, as well as modern French literature's revisiting of Electre by Giraudoux and Sartre (Podlecki 22, et passim). But the fascination of the character aside, Euripides and Sophocles can be shown to have used different mythic traditions as the basis for their treatment of Electra. This is pointed up by Graves's discussion of competing mythographers' ideas of the fate of the children of the house of Atreus. Graves cites Euripides as the source of Electra's being forced by Aegisthus (Aegisthos)to marry a peasant and to live in poverty away from the palace but under its supervision (Graves 2:58). Graves notes that Euripides and Sophocles intersect where Aegisthus's pending decision to banish Electra (i.e., make her life even more miserable) for continued insolence toward him and Clytemnestra is concerned. This is the precarious condition in w

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efore killing her mother or shadow of regret when she is dead; and yet touched here and there with something of pathos (Hamilton 198). An Electra whose emotional makeup has been perverted by unmerited suffering is willing to allow the matricide, although she cannot quite bring herself to watch it. Rather, she stations herself outside the palace, ostensibly to watch for Aegisthus, but just as plainly so overcome with emotion that she could add nothing to the murder enterprise itself. Perhaps, indeed, she has wanted Clytemnestra's death too much; hence the "something of pathos" to which Hamilton alludes. One sees her emotional vulnerability in this scene, even as one hears the physical vulnerability of Clytemnestra; this is the purgation of pity and fear to which Aristotle refers in his discussion of tragedy. Well, Electra is willing to rejoice in the death screams of her mother, if the murder of Aegisthus, as she hopes and knows, will follow hard upon. Hearing Clytemnestra plead for mercy from Orestes, Electra's rejoinder, which cannot be said to issue so much furiously as in fury, is, "But you did not pity him, nor pity his father" (SE 101). In this crucial scene, one sees Electra's poisoned emotions, agg
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Euripides's Electra, Euripides Sophocles, Instead Sophocles, Aegisthus Clytemnestra, Electra Aegisthus's, Clytemnestra Aegisthus, Aegisthus Sophocles, Nor Electra, Aegisthus EE, Electra Sophocles's, euripides's electra, killing aegisthus, euripides sophocles, ed john gassner, world drama, ed john, john gassner, kill aegisthus, heroic stature, vol 1, sophocles euripides, move pity awe, simon schuster 1967, york simon schuster, john gassner york,
Approximate Word count = 4913
Approximate Pages = 20 (250 words per page)

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