6.4 The Fantastical Comedy of Lysistrata
Comedy aims at representing men as worse, Tragedy as better than in actual life.
Comedy is an imitation of characters of a lower type. … It consists in some defect or ugliness which is not painful or destructive. To take an obvious example, the comic mask is ugly and distorted, but does not imply pain.
– Aristotle, The Poetics, Parts II and V
Aristotle’s comments on comedy are limited and focus on its association with a lower order of characters. Typical characters in a Classical Greek comedy are slaves or tradespeople who use their wits to get the better of their masters. Aristophanes wrote and produced several plays in this format. He aimed his satirical blades at Athenian politicians and at the eccentrically idealistic philosopher Socrates. Then, in 411 BCE, he produced Lysistrata, a play driven by the schemes and strategies of, gasp, a woman.
The context is the brutal Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE) which pitted the Greek city-states Athens and Sparta against each other, a conflict which led to the defeat and occupation of Athens. When the play was first staged, Athens had been defeated in its attempts to conquer Sicily, but its final defeat was yet to come.
Lysistrata is an affluent Athenian housewife who is sick of the war, tired of the men’s follies, and frustrated by the shackles which prevented women from sharing their wisdom with the state. She decides to act.
ALONICE Hello, Lysistrata.
What’s bothering you, child?
Don’t look so annoyed.
It doesn’t suit you. Your eyes get wrinkled.
LYSISTRATA
My heart’s on fire, Calonice—I’m so angry
at married women, at us, because,
although men say we’re devious characters . . .
CALONICE [interrupting]
Because, by god, we are!
LYSISTRATA [continuing] . . . when I call them all
to meet here to discuss some serious business,
they just stay in bed and don’t show up.
CALONICE
Ah, my dear, they’ll come. It’s not so easy
for wives to get away. We’ve got to fuss
about our husbands, wake up the servants,
calm and wash the babies, then give them food.
LYSISTRATA
But there are other things they need to do,
more important issues. …
It’s something I’ve been playing with—
wrestling with for many sleepless nights. …
The salvation of the whole of Greece
is now in women’s hands.
CALONICE In women’s hands?
Then it won’t be long before we done for. …
LYSISTRATA
It’s up to us to run the state’s affairs—…
if only all the women would come here
from Sparta and Boeotia, join up with us,
if we worked together, we’d save Greece.
CALONICE
But what sensible or splendid act
could women do? We sit around playing
with our cosmetics, wearing golden clothes,
posing in Cimmerian silks and slippers.
LYSISTRATA
Those are the very things which I assume
will save us—short dresses, perfumes, slippers,
make up, and clothing men can see through.
CALONICE
How’s that going to work? …
[Various women start arriving from all directions.]
LYSISTRATA Hello Lampito,
my dear friend from Sparta. How beautiful
you look, so sweet, such a fine complexion.
And your body looks so fit, strong enough
to choke a bull. …
LAMPITO
All right, who’s the one who called the meeting
and brought this bunch of women here?
LYSISTRATA I did.
LAMPITO
Then lay out what it is you want from us.
LYSISTRATA In a minute.
Before I say it, I’m going to ask you
one small question. …
Don’t you miss the fathers of your children
when they go off to war? I understand
you all have husbands far away from home. …
So would you be willing, if I found a way,
to work with me to make this fighting end?
MYRRHINE
By the twin goddesses, yes. Even if
in just one day I had to pawn this dress
and drain my purse. …
LAMPITO I’d climb up to the top
of Mount Taygetus to get a glimpse of peace.
LYSISTRATA
All right I’ll tell you. No need to keep quiet
about my plan. Now, ladies, if we want
to force the men to have a peace, well then,
we must give up . . .
MYRRHINE [interrupting]
Give up what? Tell us!
LYSISTRATA All right then—
we have to give up all men’s bodies.
Trading on dismissive stereotypes, Aristophanes’ comically air-headed society women struggle to stop thinking about clothes and cosmetics long enough to understand Lysistrata’s bold plan. Wives of the male warriors and politicians who stubbornly perpetuate the ruinous war will withhold their sexual favors until peace has been made. Lysistrata is a rather bawdy comedy in which characters make frequent remarks and gestures referring to sexuality. All are enlisted in the worthwhile project of peace.
The women respond well to Lysistrata’s plan and agree to abstain from their husbands’ arms until peace is gained. A force of elderly women takes over the Acropolis and a misogynistic magistrate tries to restore order with an inept bunch of guards who are no match for the angry women.
MAGISTRATE Disaster!
My guards have acted quite disgracefully.
LYSISTRATA
What did you expect? Did you really think
you were facing a bunch of female slaves?
Or is it your belief that mere women
have no spirit in them? …
MAGISTRATE [turning to Lysistrata]
Well then, by god,
first of all I’d like to know the reason
why you planned to use these barriers here
to barricade our citadel.
LYSISTRATA To get your money,
so you couldn’t keep on paying for war.
MAGISTRATE
Is it money that’s the cause of war?
LYSISTRATA
Yes, and all the rest of the corruption.
Peisander and our leading politicians
need a chance to steal. That’s the reason
they’re always stirring up disturbances.
Well, let the ones who wish to do this
do what they want, but from this moment on
they’ll get no more money. …
We’ll control it.
MAGISTRATE You mean
you’re going to manage all the money?
LYSISTRATA
You consider that so strange? Isn’t it true
we take care of all the household money?
MAGISTRATE
That’s not the same.
LYSISTRATA Why not?
MAGISTRATE We need the cash
to carry on the war.
LYSISTRATA Well, first of all,
there should be no fighting.
MAGISTRATE But without war
how will we save ourselves?
LYSISTRATA We’ll do that. …
We’ll save you,
even if that goes against your wishes. …
My dear fellow, we have to rescue you. …
MAGISTRATE Is it true
you’re really going to deal with peace and war?
LYSISTRATA We’re going to speak to that.
MAGISTRATE [with a threatening gesture]
Then speak fast,
or else you may well start to cry. [1]
LYSISTRATA Then listen—
and try to keep your fists controlled. …
Up to now through this long war
we kept silent about all those things
you men were doing. We were being modest.
And you did not allow us to speak up,
although we were not happy. But still,
we listened faithfully to you, and often
inside the house we heard your wretched plans
for some great deed. And if we ached inside,
we’d force a smile and simply ask, “Today
in the assembly did the men propose
a treaty carved in stone decreeing peace?”
But our husbands said, “Is that your business?
Why don’t you shut up?” …
So there I am at home, saying nothing.
Then you’d tell us of another project,
even stupider than before. We’d say,
“How can you carry out a scheme like that?
It’s foolish.” Immediately he’d frown
and say to me, “If you don’t spin your thread,
you’ll get a major beating on your head.
War is men’s concern.” …
Then we heard you speaking in the streets,
asking openly, “Are there any men
still left here in our land?” and someone said,
“By god, there’s no one.” Well then, after that
it seemed to us we had to rescue Greece
by bringing wives into a single group
with one shared aim. Why should we delay?
If you’d like to hear us give some good advice,
then start to listen, keep your mouths quite shut,
the way we did. We’ll save you from yourselves.
[1] Start to cry: The misogynistic assumption that women are too emotional to act in authoritative roles is a very old one.
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| Richard G. Smith. [Director]. (1973). Production of Lysistrata. |
Meanwhile, the campaign of celibacy is having its effect. Some of the women begin to desert from the group. One husband appears, desperate for sexual release. A delegation from Sparta arrives and Lysistrata’s strategy bears fruit as peace talks get under way.
LYSISTRATA Now then,
you men of Sparta, stand here close to me,
and you Athenians over here. All of you,
listen to my words. I am a woman,
but I have a brain, and my common sense
is not so bad—I picked it up quite well
from listening to my father and to speeches
from our senior men. Now I’ve got you here,
I wish to reprimand you, both of you,
and rightly so. …
You share the same ancestral group.[1]
We’ve got barbarian enemies, and yet
with your armed expeditions you destroy
Greek men and cities. …
If you’ve done many good things for each other,
why go to war? Why not stop this conflict?
Why not conclude a peace? What’s in the way? …
Now you must purify yourselves.
We women will host a dinner for you
in the Acropolis. We’ll use the food
we brought here in our baskets. In there
you will make a oath and pledge your trust
in one another. Then each of you
can take his wife and go back home. …
[Lysistrata emerges from the citadel bringing all the wives with her.]
LYSISTRATA
Come now, since everything has turned out well,
take these women back with you, you Spartans.
And, you Athenians, these ones are yours.
Let each man stand beside his wife, each wife
beside her man, and then to celebrate
good times let’s dance in honor of the gods.
And for all future time, let’s never make
the same mistake again.
[1] Same ancestral group: populations of numerous “Greek” city states shared ethnic roots but maintained fierce independence. The Peloponnesian War was fought between alliances of these states led by dominant Athens and Sparta. Lysistrata is arguing that rivals sharing deep cultural roots should work together against common enemies, especially Persia to the East.
Lysistrata has the structure of Classical Comedy. But its willingness to tackle questions of gender are beyond rare. Even as it makes the case for a progressive view of women, it indulges in cheap humor by trading in gendered stereotypes. Still, it is remarkable to hear these militant women’s voices echoing from so long ago.
Our chapter began with a reference to standup comedy. A standup act does not conform to the dramatic structures specified by Aristotle. However, the humor uses the tools of Irony, Satire, and sarcasm that Aristophanes wielded so well. The more societies change, the more the structure of comedy remains intact.
References
Aristophanes. (411 BCE). Lysistrata. Trans Johnston, I. (2008). Johnstonian Texts https://johnstoniatexts.x10host.com/aristophanes/lysistratahtml.html
Aristotle. (c 350 BCE). Poetics. Butcher, S. H. Translator. (1922). London: Macmillan. Internet Archive https://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/poetics.html
Smith, R. G. [Director]. (1973). Production of Lysistrata [Photograph]. Binghamton, NY: State University of New York. Jstor https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.21971240
A) an aesthetic valuing clarity, order, balance, unity, symmetry, and dignity, usually honoring a cultural tradition associated with some golden age of the past. B) in the Euro-American tradition, a reference to the works, styles, and themes of Greek and Roman antiquity.
for Aristotle, a drama involving characters of lower social orders who amuse us with defects or ugliness but is not ultimately painful or destructive
an often wryly humorous, indirect mode of communication that asks the reader to compare what is said with some known or signified reference. Frequently used to puncture false pretentions, especially of the social elite. E.g. a standup comedian who relies on the audience to draw on what it knows about a celebrity to get the joke.
a narrative or drama that ironically imitates a well-known model with caricatures and distortions that point up the humorous or dark sides of the original