Author: j.kazubowski

Penthesilea was a virgin her entire life before falling in love with the Trojan prince, Hector. When he was killed by Achilles in battle, she promised to avenge his death. This may have been the first reason why the Amazons sided with the Trojans. I also believe that she made the Amazons side with the Trojans because the Trojans were much more civilized and less barbaric than the Greeks. The Greeks represented a lot of the wrong that came from men which is what the Amazons resented and wanted to stay away from.

Shakespeare’s depictions of women in Hamlet reflect the views of women during Elizabethan times. The women are depicted as having very little power and delicate so that the men can have consistency throughout the play and make most of the decisions. We see Ophelia obeying Polonius and  Laertes, and Gertrude obeying Cladius or Hamlet. The delicacy of the women leads to the men dominating their relationships and this affects the women’s views of love. The women also are used as connectors between men. They are minor characters in the story but they add definition to the story by tying characters through romance or family ties.

We see a change at the end of the trilogy when the cycle of revenge is broken. The Athenian people use a judicial system to determine whether or not Orestes is guilty and by doing so we see one of the first examples of judicial justice system in history. It fits well with the rest of the story because in the first two stories we see the how without an impartial third party to give out judgements and without consequences or laws for actions society can not work properly. Then in the third and final tragedy, the Athenian people get together and vote whether or not Orestes is guilty. The verdict is split and Athena herself weighs in to tip the scales. We see an example of people becoming civil and giving him a fair trail where he was proven not-guilty instead of someone next in line coming and murdering Orestes in revenge.