Tuesday, 17 June 2008: complete Agamemnon (458 BCE); begin O'Neill, The Homecoming (1931)

Text-objective discussion (Cassandra in Agamemnon): Rebecca Watts

Text Objective Discussion: Cassandra in Agamemnon

By: Rebecca Watts

 Background of Cassandra-

          Cassandra is the daughter of King Priam of Troy, which has been defeated by Agamemnon and his Greek army in the Trojan War. Cassandra was the Princess of Troy, but is now Agamemnon’s slave and is returning with him to Argos now that the war is over. Cassandra is a prophet, a gift given to her by the god Apollo. Apollo gave this gift to her out of love, but when she refused to have his child he cursed her in that no one would believe or understand her prophecies.

Problems associated with Cassandra-

·        Once a Princess, she has not only seen her city and citizens destroyed as a result of the Trojan War, she has become a prisoner to her father’s enemy.

·        Upon arriving in Argos, she prophesizes that not only will her new master Agamemnon die at the hands of his wife Clytaemnestra, but Cassandra herself will be murdered also. Cassandra is first very alarmed and frightened at the visions she is seeing. She tries to warn the Chorus, but because of Apollo’s curse, they don’t understand her. Her actions lead them to believe that she is crazy.

·        Cassandra faces the issue of free-will vs. fate. Even after seeing the prophecies of her own death, she still chooses to step forward into the palace and accept her fate, and is in fact murdered.

Relationship to Course Objective/Other Course Materials

·        The issue of fate and free will is a recurring topic in tragedy. Cassandra envisions her own death and even though running away seems like a possibility she states:

“This is the day. It makes no sense to run” (1540). The topic of fate and free will is highly debatable in that it makes us question our own lives and how much control we have over our own destiny.

·        This play is similar to Oedipus the King in that Oedipus did not believe the prophet Teiresias, but instead insulted him when he told Oedipus things he did not want to hear.

Passages/Selections

“An interpreter is what this stranger needs.

She’s like some wild thing freshly trapped”(1252-1253).

“I still don’t understand. What she’s saying

Is just too confused. Her dark prophecies

Leave me bewildered” (1312-1314).

*These passages explain the effect of the curse of Apollo.

“But murder waits for me-

a two-edged sword hacks me to death” (1357-1358).

“For all that, I say, revenge is on the way” (1443).

“I tell you you’ll see Agamemnon dead” (1474).

“He brought me here. Now we both die” (1494).

*These passages depict Cassandra’s prophesies of murder.

Lines 1528-1546

*This is a rather large section that entails Cassandra’s belief in fate.

Questions for Discussion

1.     Do you think there is any special significance in having a woman with a role as a prophet in Agamemnon?

2.   Do you think that Cassandra looked at her impending murder as fate, or was it possibly her choice to escape the sadness she felt for the loss of her past life and avoid living a life of misery?