Progressively Shaming Women
By Laura Berger

Some might say that Euripides’ The Bacchae is a play with themes of female liberation and is progressive in its portrayal of its female characters. The women of this play gallivant and dance through the woods, rebelling against Pentheus and Thebes’ Patriarchy, and the lead character, a god, Dionysus, possesses feminine qualities of his own. All of these are very progressive at first glance. The Bacchae may have been progressive in the era Euripides wrote it, and while it did break the barriers of what a female character could be, it may not be as feminist friendly as one might think. In reality, The Bacchae is more harmful and sexist in its portrayal of women and femininity, whether it was the playwright’s intention or not. Lets start at the very beginning of the play (a very good place to start). Enter Dionysus, god of wine and son of Zeus. He is in the land of Thebes, which is under the rule of Pentheus, grandson of Cadmus. Thebes is a land that has denied his godliness and refused to acknowledge and celebrate him under the orders of Pentheus. Dionysus declares “Every woman in Thebes – but the women only – I drove from home, mad. There they sit, rich and poor alike, even the daughters of Cadmus, beneath the silver firs on the roofless rocks.” The god has sent the women of Thebes to Mt. Cithaeron to perform rituals in his rite; he makes the women maenads (ecstatic women followers of Dionysus) and they rebel against the laws of Thebes in order to do this. This female liberation could be interpreted as a feminist theme of women rebelling against a Patriarchal system, however, this is not so. These women’s actions are not of their own making. They are under complete control of Dionysus, who is manipulating these women to worship him. This is not actual rebellion inspired by equality or female spirit.