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... this situation is to risk becoming a "viper" like Clytaemestra. Although Aeschylus shows an awareness of the difficulties inherent in this situation for women, he is no revolutionary. The triumph of the trilogy is harmony and restoration of order, reconciliation of the old with the new. It was for the playwright Euripides, later on, to dwell obsessively on the status of woman and the contradictions of her social position. Orestes' prayer to Zeus introduces one of the important and recurring symbols of The Libation Bearers.
He describes his father as having been destroyed by a viper. The viper's indiscriminate malevolence is a metaphor for familial strife: the creature will attack and kill even members of its own brood. Here, the snake is a symbol for Clytaemestra; significantly, in Clytaemestra's dreams a snake symbolizes Orestes. The serpent's poison also symbolizes the poison that flows in the veins of the House of Atreus, sickening each new generation with more internal violence and murder; Aegisthus speaks of the serpent's poison later in the play (ll. 841 - 3).
The serpent also symbolizes deviousness. Orestes likens his father to a mighty eagle snared by a snake's coils. In all the murders in the house of Atreus, bloodshed comes about not on the battlefield but by deceptions and plots. From the invocation of Agamemnon's spirit to the change of scene from the king's tomb to just outside the door of Clytaemestra's palace. (Lines 315 - 652): Summary: In a lyrical and intense sequence, Electra and Orestes, and to a lesser extent the Chorus, call on the spirit of Agamemnon to aid them.
They pray to Zeus, Earth, and the gods of the dead. They speak of the wrongs committed by Clytaemestra and the shameful end of their great father. They pray for aid and strength so that they will not become soft and fail to carry out the deed. The Chorus praises the words of Electra and Orestes spurs them on to action. Orestes asks why Clytaemestra decided to send offerings to Agamemnon's tomb. The Chorus tells Orestes that the queen had a dream that she was nursing a serpent.
The snake drew blood along with mother's milk. Orestes hopes that the snake symbolizes him. Electra will go inside and keep watch on the house to make sure nothing gets in the way of their plot. The slave women will keep Orestes' return a secret. Orestes and Pylades will go to the gate of the palace, disguised as foreigners. Because of the Greek view of hospitality, they will not be turned away.
Once inside, Pylades and Orestes will kill Aegisthus first. Orestes and Pylades exit, and Electra exits separately. The Chorus sings of the sins of evil women and men. Time and time again, the gods have shown that they punish wrongdoers. The Chorus describes "daring" as an inextricable part of their sins. These villains dared to defy the gods or the laws of morality.
For the sake of ambition or lust they put themselves above the laws of gods and men. The Chorus says that there are clear lessons to be learned from the fate of these sinners. Their punishment is a sign that the gods watch and judge. In Argos, the Chorus says, those in sin have yet to be punished, but at long last Destiny and the gods will bring about their just end.
Analysis: The invocation of Agamemnon is one of the most powerful scenes of the play. The language is intense, full of violence and passion, and through this language Aeschylus conjures the sense of tremendous powers at work in the events to come. The divine plan and destiny is an important theme of the trilogy. Remember that Apollo himself has given the order for Orestes to murder his mother.
Also at work is the theme of history and memory. The actions of Orestes are spurred from above, but they are also spurred from behind: in the past, he has the whole bloody history of his family and the Curse on the House of Atreus pushing him forward. Several times during the invocation, the Curse comes up either explicitly or implicitly. There is a strong sense of the legacy of violence that has been left to these children; Electra describes herself and Orestes as "savage born from the savage mother" (l. 422), and the Chorus speaks explicitly of the terrible internal violence that has plagued the house of Atreus.
Two themes come together in the Curse: the theme of history and the theme of violence's self-perpetuating nature. Behind Agamemnon's death is the story of the Trojan War and before that, the bloody legacy of his father. (See the Classic Note on Agamemnon or this Classic Note's Short Summary for the story of the Curse on the House of Atreus. ) Remember that Aegisthus was Thyestes' only surviving son. His brothers were killed by Agamemnon's father through a scheme that was both barbaric and wickedly creative. Aegisthus, in turn, killed Agamemnon with Clytaemestra's help. Now, Orestes will kill him. Violence is a cycle that seemingly has no end.
The force of this cycle propels Orestes toward matricide. But that does not mean that matricide is easy or pleasant. When Orestes and Electra call on their father to remember their suffering and the wrongs committed against him, the invocation seems to be as much for them as it is for him. They are working themselves into a frenzy, making themselves bloodthirsty and savage enough to murder their own mother. This frenzy comes with the theme of memory and history.
Memory gives the past the power to work on in the present; through the invocation, Orestes and Electra are making themselves relive the horrible events of the past. They are manipulating memory, (leaving out Iphigeneia's death, for instance) so that they will be able to properly avenge their father, as ordered by Apollo, and protect their lives and their rightful inheritance. In Electra's final prayer to Agamemnon, she brings up one of the important symbols of the trilogy. She likens her brother and herself to the corks of a net, which keep the fibers from sinking. In this way, though their father is dead, he will live on if his children survive. They will hold up his bloodline for him.
The impetus to restore order, to set the world right, is another important theme of the trilogy. Part of restoring order is putting the rightful heir on the throne and continuing the family line. But Electra's use of metaphor shows how complex symbolism in the Orestes can be. The corks of the net are a metaphor for the family's survival, but the net and water imagery recall Agamemnon's murder. Remember that to kill him, Clytaemestra ensnared the king with a piece of cloth while he was taking a bath. Even in an image of survival, there is no escape from images of violence.
Survival will not come with clean hands for the siblings; more brutality and treachery will be needed. But still, Aeschylus shows faith in the ultimate triumph of justice. His universe is not as chaotic or malicious as Euripides'; the words of the Chorus show that the gods watch and judge justly. Although solutions are not simple and often unmerciful, there is a sense that in the end all comes to right.
Clytaemestra's death has to happen; the murder will be further proof that there is justice in the world. From the scene change to the exit of Cilissa. (Lines 653 - 782): Summary: We now have a scene change. We are no longer at the tomb of Agamemnon, but before the doors of Clytaemestra's palace. Orestes, accompanied by Pylades, knocks on the palace doors. He says to a servant that he brings important news for the masters of the house. Clytaemestra comes out to greet them; she offers hospitality and asks to hear the news.
The disguised Orestes tells her that on his way to Argos, he was told to inform the rulers of Argos that Orestes is dead. Clytaemestra receives the news with apparent sorrow. She assures the disguised Orestes that the hospitality offered to him will not suffer, despite the fact that he is the bringer of terrible news, and she tells a servant to make sure that the two travelers receive every benefit of hospitality. She will talk to Aegisthus and some trusted friends about this sudden turn of events. Everyone exits except for the Chorus. The Chorus prays for Orestes's unless.
Cilissa, an old nurse, enters with tears in her eyes, and the Chorus asks her why she is crying. Cilissa says that Clytaemestra seems sad, but Cilissa thinks that the queen hides inner happiness at the news; Orestes can no longer endanger the queen and Aegisthus. Clytaemestra se...
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