What are the traits of aegisthus in the agamemnon play?

Answer 1

OUTLINE:

• coward
• lustful
• proud
• revengeful
• unjust
• sinner
• dishonest

1.Coward

He was coward because the woman (wife of Agamemnon ) have killed her husband, but in later text it is revealed that he was planning murder of Agamemnon along with his wife Clytaemestra. For example:

Chorus :

"So then you, like a woman, waited the war out" (line 1624)

Here chorus is trying to reveal the truth before us and calling Aegisthus a woman as he was indulge in the planning of Agamemnon's death but waited for a woman to perform the murder herself. So it proves that he is coward and acted like a woman as we know that women need support of a man or someone else or in simple words dependent but i think that here Aegisthusplayed role of a woman and Clytaemestra of a man.

2.Lustful:

He was lustful and his intentions are shown clearly in these lines:

"Still with his money i shall endeavor to control

the citizens...................................................... " (lines 1648-1649)

In these lines he is trying to say that i have so much money as he is the new king and have control of all the powers which Agamemnon used to have , he says that now i can buy all citizens with the money he has. This shows how lustful he was for the money and power.

He also had lust for Queen as told before he was planning murder of her husband with the Queen. He was the lover of Clytaemestra , we get to know about it when Chorus says:

"here in the house, shaming the master's bed with lust,

and planned against the lord of war this treacherous

death". (Lines 1627-1628)

3. Proud:

When someone gets power automatically pride makes its place within the person unconsciously. Same is the case with Aegisthus he also fell a victim of pride. e.g.

When chorus tries to tell him that if he has did wrong he also have to face the same and Aegisthus being a new king calls him an old and weak person and tries to snub him by saying:

"You shall be dragged, for baby whimpering sobbed out

in rage. Once broken, you will be easier to deal with. " (lines 1631-1632)

This shows how proud he is for getting the powers and replacing Agamemnon as a new King . In pride he has forgotten that "every rise have a fall as well".

4. Revengeful:

As we know that Aegisthus's father Thyestesthought that his brother Atreus has gained the thrown unjustly so he fought many wars with his own brother but all was in vain. Later Atreus came to know that his brother is having affair with his own wife, he therefore, killed Thyestes'ssons and served the meat of his sons to him in dinner. When Thyestes came to know he cursed his brothers home that he will also see the same deaths and asked one of the wise man that how to take best revenge and he was told to be a father of a son from his own daughter and that son will kill his brother and will take your revenge. Thyestes followed the instructions and a son was born who was banished . Unknowingly Atreus took him in his house and raised him as his own son and when he came to know about his real father and the unfair behavior of his uncle with his father he killed Atreus and later he and his father ruled there and thrown Agamemnon and Minaleus out of the palace.

But Aegisthus was not having any kind of enmity directly with Agamemnon but still he planned his murder.

e.g.

"..................But Atreus this man's godless sire,

angrily hospitable set a feast for him ,

in seeming a glade day of fresh meat slain and good

cheer; then served my father his own children's flesh

to feed on. ................................................................"(lines 1590-1594)

5. Unjust:

After getting the powers he became unjust. He forgot how to behave with the others specially the elder ones due to which he will suffer because according to Greek mythology if a ruler becomes unjust than he has to suffer because Zeus is the God of justice and Zeus will punish him for his injustice with the innocents.

e.g.

"Death you said and death it shall be; we take up the

word of fate." (line 1653)

6. Sinner:

He is a sinner as well because he firstly killed his Uncle then later plans to kill Agamemnon and had an affair with his cousin's wife.

7. Dishonest:By reading different summaries i came to know that Agamemnonwas invited by him on dinner at his place and was murdered there. So this shows his dishonesty with Agamemnon. Having an affair with Clytaemestra is also one of the proof of his dishonesty.

Written by Mubsira Saif Toor