Electra

Edition: Fifth Edition // Descr: xv, 216 p. 18 cm. // Series: Call No. { 882 S6 5 } With Notes by R.C. Jebb and R.H. Mather. // //

Edition: Second Edition, Revised // Descr: xiv, 171 p. 19 cm. // Series: Catena Classicorum Call No. { 882 S6 6 } Series Edited by Arthur Holmes and Charles Bigg Edited by R.C. Jebb Contains Indices. // //

Having read this play, I really want to see it live. Sophocles did a masterful job. Electra is vibrant and passionate; her emotions leap off the page. Her approach to life, her anger and refusal to cease mourning her murdered father, are a sharp contrast to the passive, adaptive perspective of Chrysothemis. The two of them represent the two ways people deal with life when dealt a painful blow; some people nurse the hurt and refuse to move on until vengeance is given, while others simply try to roll with the punches in order to avoid more.

Having read other tales of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, I truly felt sorry for the queen. The murder of her daughter for any reason would be horrible; knowing it's a reason Clytemnestra could never support must have made Agamemnon's decision into a true betrayal of their family and marriage. Yet, I cannot support her decision, because the cycle of vengeance she started could bring about no happy ending, no peace, and her children suffered for it. ( )