When I read Taplin’s chapter on
scenic sequence, the scene in Electra
in which Orestes finally reveals himself to Electra came to mind. The placement
of this scene intrigued me; as to an impatient audience it seems rather
overdue. Orestes has been in the picture since the first scene, however he
doesn’t return until 900 lines later. He has even heard Electra’s voice from
the house and still decided not to check on her. Furthermore when he does
approach Electra, he doesn’t reveal his identity until after a good amount of
dialogue with her. Personally, this was painful for me to read. Our sympathies
are with Electra. The only person who could make her truly happy is standing
about a foot away from her talking with her and she doesn’t realize who he is.
“Hasn’t this girl been through enough, Orestes?” I thought, irked at the
insensitivity of the man. However upon further consideration and an effort to
visualize the scene on a stage I realized that Orestes was acting in his own
self-preservation. He needed to gage Electra’s true motivations for himself
before he revealed his identity. The delayed reveal and
stichomythia that led up to it provided an even more dramatic and satisfying
reunion. The dramatic reveal within this scene highlights the emotional
rollercoaster on which Electra is a permanent passenger: within seconds she
goes from grief stricken to elation. Electra’s ability to passionately succumb
to her feelings and beliefs is one of her crowning characteristics and this
scene is demonstrative of that aspect of her character. Also, the fact that
Orestes did not try to contact Electra when he first arrived is indicative of a
huge difference between the two characters. Whereas Electra is passionate,
Orestes is rational. He values the success of his plan more than the immediate
gratification of seeing his sister. Even though I sympathized with Electra and
was frustrated by Orestes choice to keep her ignorant, I realize the merit in
Sophocles placing the scene where he did. This scene marks a turning point in
the play. It marks the end of a set up and the beginning of the action. It
marks a power shift from Clytaimestra and Agisthos to Electra and Orestes. And
it provides relief for the audience and leaves them bristling with excitement
for the gristly events ahead.
Neat contrast pointed out there with Electra being passion and Orestes rationability. Interesting that Euripides, as opposed to Sophocles, portrays him as more crazy and not rational.
ReplyDeleteThe contrast between the two versions of Orestes is a good point, Ansel. It's so interesting to see playwrights varying perspectives and utilization of the same myth.
DeleteYou do well to point out the huge gap between Orestes' first entrance and his return carrying the empty urn. Some critics say that this play is poorly written,broken into two plays essentially - 1) Electra dealing with problems at home, 2) the revenge plot. But as you point out here, the point of this fragmentation seems to be that we as audience get to go along with Electra on her emotional roller coaster. True, none of this moves the plot along per se, but it does helps us to sympathize with Electra, as you point out, and it does build tension for the eventual recognition scene.
ReplyDeleteGood comment Ansel on comparing Orestes in "Electra" with Orestes in "Orestes"
I wonder if this means that Sophocles values character development over momentum of the plot.
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