Aristophanes and Women

AristophanesandWomen,firstpublishedin1993,investigatestheworkingsofthegreatAtheniancomedian’s‘womenplays’inanattempttodiscernwhytheywereinfactprobablyquitefunnytotheiroriginalaudiences.Itisarguedthatmodernstudents,scholars,anddramatistsneedtoconsidermuchmorecloselytheconditionsoftheplays’ancientproductionswhenevaluatingtheirostensiblethemes.Threeplaysarefocusedupon:Lysistrata,Thesmophoriazusae,andEcclesiazusae.Allseemtospeakquiteeloquentlytocontemporaryconcernsaboutwomen’srights,thevalueofwomen’swork,andtherelationshipsbetweenwomenandwar,literaryrepresentationandpolitics.Ontheonehand,ProfessorTaaffetriestoretrievewhatanancientAthenianaudiencemayhavelappreciatedabouttheseplaysandwhattheircentralthesesmayhavemeantwithinthatculture.Ontheotherhand,Aristophanesisdiscussedfromtheperspectiveofalatetwentieth-century,specificallyfemale,reader.