I argue in this dissertation that the plays of Aeschylus are best understood as
appeals to their predominantly male fifth-century Athenian audience centered around the
presentation of dramatic character. I maintain that an examination of the Persians, Seven
against Thebes, and Suppliants in these terms reveals that these plays are not primitive,
static, or simplistic plays from early in Aeschylus’ career, but rather dramatically
complex and mature works. More broadly, I assert that character studies are not
hopelessly outdated nor at odds with audience-centered and cultural studies. By
combining these approaches, we gain a fuller understanding of how playwrights
composed the plays and how spectators responded to them. I also assert that divergent
responses to dramas based on individual experiences are not only the rule for spectators
of tragedy, but directly influence how playwrights approached their dramatic characters.
The Introduction includes theoretical background for spectators’ relationship to
dramatic characters culled from film theory and an application of its general principles to
the Oresteia. In chapter 1, I examines how the Persians invites spectators to experience a
range of potentially contradictory emotional states that include fear of the Persian
invaders and sympathy with the inhabitants of the Persian Empire, with the men who
fought against them in the war, and perhaps even with Xerxes himself. In Chapter 2, I show how, initially, the Seven against Thebes strongly implies, but does not establish
beyond a doubt, that Eteocles is a paragon of Greek manhood and a noble defender of his
city with whom Athenian spectators could identify. Questions about Eteocles emerge,
however, when the play introduces Polyneices’ accusations of injustice against him,
points to increasing similarities between the brothers, and shows how their fates have
long since been sealed by their father’s curse and by the will of Apollo. In Chapters 3
and 4, I argue that the portrayal of the Danaids in the Suppliants is intentionally
ambiguous. Spectators may have known that the Danaids would kill the Aegyptids, but
the play offers vague and contradictory evidence regarding them and their situation to
generate suspense in this early play of the trilogy. / text
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UTEXAS/oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/7548 |
| Date | 01 June 2010 |
| Creators | Bednarowski, Keith Paul |
| Source Sets | University of Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | electronic |
| Rights | Copyright is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works. |
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