Lysistrata

     Something I found really interesting about the ending of Lysistrata is the presentation of the capabilities of women.

     Women are presented as knowledgeable in most areas of the world––at least in terms of war and money––since they were present and listening to their husbands and sons talk and learn about these things, and also because they are "taxed too, and as a toll provide men for the nation / While, miserable greybeards, you, / It is true, / Contribute nothing of any importance whatever to our needs" (28). This shows that women are doing most, if not all, of the work of maintaining and growing society, while the men contribute nothing to women's being; everything that helps men comes from women, and everything that helps women also comes from women.

     Lysistrata also instructs Reconciliation to "see you lift no rude or violent hands-- / None of the churlish ways our husbands used. / But lead them courteously, as women should" (40). This shows that women were looked up to for moral and behavioural problems, since the only other people in society, men, were characterised as "churlish," "rude," and "violent," especially given all the anti-war commentary, against a war that is only happening because of, and profiting, men.

     These examples show the greater vibe of the story as being one of a sort of celebration of femininity––even though the play is satyrical. Women, here, are shown not only to have unexpected (by men) intellectual prowess and ability, but also to be the ones upholding morality of society and modelling proper behaviour for the next generation. Basically, all of society rest on the shoulders of women, which men refuse to acknowledge, but is a truth nonetheless

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