Sexist Views in The Bacchae :: Bacchae Essays

Sexist Views in The Bacchae   Throughout my life, Ive heard the phrases, Women shouldnt serve in the build up Forces no, I wouldnt want a female president a womans spatial relation is in the home. Even though our society is drifting from these extremely sexist views, opinions like these are still widely held. Women were mistreated much the same(p) in the ancient Greek civilizations. The views of our society, regarding the affectionate and sexual roles of women, are mirror in the ancient Greek tragedy, The Bacchae. The idea that a womans place is in the home is all too common in our culture, just conceive into consideration the Southern Baptist Conventions declaration stating wives must be submissive to their husbands. This doctrine was held strongly in the Greek civilization as well. A womans lam was to bear and raise children, cook, clean and care for any other needfully the family may have. They werent entitled to the basic freedoms they deserved. This intolerant v iew was illustrated in The Bacchae when Pentheus, in a rage, was ranting on about how all the women have decrepit their homes to run wild through the dark woods on the people (pg 19, ln 17). The imagery associated with the woods is b wish and evil, yet when Pentheus speaks of the home, he claims the women have deserted, as if they were wrongfully leaving their duty. Obviously, he believes the home is the proper place for a woman. Another very common misconception about women is that they were created for the pleasure of man. The idea that a womans body was not her own, merely a possession to be reign by her master as he wished, is also present in The Bacchae. The instances where the Maenads drank themselves into insensibility then crawled into the bushes to lie down before lusting men shows what lack of control these women had over their bodies. They were continuously dominated by the male god, Dionysus, and the accompaniment that noone spoke against this behavior as being moral ly wrong all supports the idea that women are objects. Its absurd viewpoints like these that lead to modern daytime rape and sexual abuse. Yes, the sexist views demonstrated in The Bacchae belittle the social and sexual roles of woman, and yes, they may be reflected in our society today, but I do believe were progressing above those close-minded, ignorant ways of thinking.