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An Ecofeminist Reading of Aeschylus’ The Eumenides: Visions and Revisions

Article

Last updated: 05 Jan 2025

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Tags

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Abstract

One of the main tenets of ecofeminism is that patriarchal thought tends to provide a context for the subjugation of women and nature alike, hence the term "ecofeminism" which clearly demonstrates that both ecology and feminism are closely connected in this critical theory. It is the aim of this paper to give an ecofeminist reading of the Classical play The Eumenides by Aeschylus, which was written in fifth-century B.C. Athens, at a time when patriarchy had taken over and silenced the former power of the matriarchs. The new Athenian polis had urbanized the old rituals of the earlier rural cults, and male priests now presided over those rites. Set in those times, the play tries to consolidate male rule over the polis, but the tension lurking underneath is quite evident. The paper will shed light on the conflict between matriarchy and patriarchy as presented in the play, through an ecofeminist reading of the text. Since there are different trends within ecofeminist thought, just as there are different directions within feminism, the paper will attempt an essentialist ecofeminist reading of the play, then reexamine it once more in light of deconstructionist ecofeminism, hence showing one of the many diversities within this critical school.

DOI

10.21608/ejlt.2022.169181.1016

Keywords

Furies, Athena, matriarchy, patriarchy

Authors

First Name

Dina

Last Name

Abd Elsalam

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of English, Faculty of Arts, Alexandria University

Email

d.abdelsalam@alexu.edu.eg

City

21631

Orcid

-

Volume

9

Article Issue

1

Related Issue

37100

Issue Date

2022-10-01

Receive Date

2022-10-16

Publish Date

2022-10-01

Page Start

130

Page End

153

Online ISSN

2314-6699

Link

https://ejlt.journals.ekb.eg/article_276770.html

Detail API

https://ejlt.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=276770

Order

276,770

Type

Research in linguistic and literary studies

Type Code

2,266

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Egyptian Journal of Linguistics and Translation

Publication Link

https://ejlt.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

An Ecofeminist Reading of Aeschylus’ The Eumenides: Visions and Revisions

Details

Type

Article

Created At

23 Jan 2023