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The Direct Discourse of Women in Plutarch's Roman Lives

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The Direct Discourse of Women in Plutarch's Roman Lives Persuasive ethics: The direct discourse of women in Plutarch’s Roman Lives A Thesis Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Amanda Macauley Classics Department University of Otago 2016 Abstract This thesis examines the ways in which the speech of women and their interaction with men contribute to the ethical framework of Plutarch’s Roman Lives. In particular, it explores the significant features shared by the various examples of female speech: every Roman woman who speaks is a member of the elite; all speak at a point of civic and personal crisis; and all are portrayed as virtuous exempla. The lone exception to this model is Cleopatra, whose direct discourse functions as a philosophical and cultural contrast to the virtues espoused by the Roman women, although ultimately, Plutarch provides the Egyptian queen with a measure of redemption at the close of the Life of Antony. A close reading of these texts therefore offers a complex view of how Plutarch regarded gender, culture and identity under the rule of the Roman Empire. Chapter One analyses the public intercessions of Hersilia in the Life of Romulus and Volumnia in the Life of Coriolanus. In these episodes, Plutarch incorporates Greek tragic models and Roman cultural ideals in order to present female action and direct discourse as a dramatic articulation of the importance of sophrosyne and paideia for both the statesman and state. Chapter Two explores the more intimate speeches delivered by Julia, Octavia and Cleopatra in the Life of Antony. The discourse of these women serves to illustrate the ethical tension between eros (passion) and logos (reason), and the conflict between the pursuit of public and private goods. Chapter Three examines the spoken interaction between husband and wife in the Lives of Pompey, Brutus and Gaius Gracchus. The women’s speeches, modelled again on Greek tragic and epic archetypes, explore the vital difference between eros and marital philia (friendship), reinforcing the connection between private conjugal harmony, virtue and civic stability. Plutarch thus regularly deploys female direct discourse to dramatically reinforce his moral and philosophical themes at watershed moments of the narrative. As each speech is delivered not only at critical points of the protagonist’s life, but at critical moments for Rome, each scene dramatically exemplifies an unsettling mode of instruction within the narrative by questioning the statesman’s roles and responsibilities within Rome’s societal structures; and each subsequently reasserts the social and ethical foundations on which the protagonist (and Plutarch’s ideal reader) should rely. ii Acknowledgments I would like to thank my supervisor, Prof. Jon Hall, for his always useful and perceptive feedback. Since this project was a long-distance undertaking, any comments on Jon’s behalf necessitated the writing of long emails where usually a five-minute conversation would suffice—needless to say, I am extremely grateful! My writing has greatly improved as a result of Jon’s generous sharing of his own immense knowledge and resources and as a result, this project has been a genuine pleasure to undertake. Many thanks are also due to Dr Gary Morrison at the University of Canterbury, who has always been available with great advice, interesting projects, tutoring work and wine. His calm reassurances of ‘it’ll be fine’ have allowed me to worry much less about the small things and follow ideas that I initially had little confidence in. I want to also thank the postgraduate cohort at UC who are the finest bunch of incredibly smart, loyal and witty people around. Thanks also to my quirky, infuriating and hilarious children, Maya and Tom, who are vaguely proud of ‘Mum writing about old stuff.’ Never change but clean your rooms. Finally, this thesis is for Wade, not just for his (almost) funny Herodotus jokes, fantastic cooking and constant support, but for simply being the best person I know. This thesis was completed with the generous aid of a University of Otago Research Masters scholarship. iii Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………...…………………….ii Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………………...iii Abbreviations and Editions used……………………………………………………………….…v Introduction………………..…………………………………………………………………….….1 Chapter 1: The Ethical Discourse of Female Intercession…………..………………………….…19 The Life of Romulus………………………………………………………………………….…..20 The Life of Coriolanus……………………………………………………………………….…..36 Chapter 2: Eros and Logos: The Women of the Life of Antony……………………...……….…...54 Chapter 3: The Andromache Model: Supportive Wives and Lamentation…………...……….…..81 The Life of Pompey ……………………………………………………………………………...83 The Life of Brutus……………………………………………………………………...………...95 The Life of Gaius Gracchus…………………………………………………………………….106 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………..117 Appendix 1: Instances of Female Direct Discourse in the Parallel Lives……………………...124 Appendix 2: Types and Length of Direct Discourse in the Romulus, Antony, Pompey, Brutus and the Gracchi……………………………………………………………………………………..126 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………...131 iv Abbreviations and Editions used The Loeb editions of Plutarch’s Parallel Lives have been preferred over Teubner editions, thus the chapter and verse divisions do not correspond with the latter.1 References to the Moralia use the Stephanus page numbering system. All translations are my own, unless otherwise stated, although I have consulted Perrin’s translations throughout, and in some instances, those of Warner (2006), Scott- Kilvert (2004, 2010, 2013) and Pelling (2010, 2013). Abbreviations for ancient authors and their works follow the conventions used in the Oxford Classical Dictionary (3rd ed.). Abbreviations for some of the more obscure works of the Moralia not listed in the OCD are as below: An virtus docere possit An virt. doc. Coniugalia praecepta Con. prae. Consolatio ad uxorem Con. ad. ux. De virtute morali De virt. mor. De liberis educandis De lib. ed. De cohibenda ira De coh. ira. De capienda ex inimicis utilitate De cap. ex. in. 1 Duff (2002) xiii. It has been argued that the Teubner editions have imposed a level of atticism not present in Plutarch’s original (see Giangrande (1988, 1991, 1992a and b); Gallo (1992). v Parallel Lives Theseus and Romulus Thes. Rom. Lycurgus and Numa Lyc. Num. Solon and Publicola Sol. Pub. Themistocles and Camillus Them. Cam. Pericles and Fabius Maximus Per. Fab. Coriolanus and Alcibiades Cor. Alc. Aemilius Paulus and Timoleon Aem. Tim. Pelopidas and Marcellus Pel. Marc. Aristides and Cato Major Arist. Cat. Maj. Philopoemen and Flaminius Phil. Flam. Pyrrhus and Marius Pyrr. Mar. Lysander and Sulla Lys. Sulla Cimon and Lucullus Cim. Luc. Nicias and Crassus Nic. Crass. Sertorius and Eumenes Sert. Eum. Agesilaus and Pompey Ages. Pomp. Alexander and Caesar Alex. Caes. Phocion and Cato Minor Phoc. Cat. Min. Agis-Cleomenes & Gracchi Ag./Cleom. Gaius/Tib. Demosthenes and Cicero Demo. Cic. Demetrius and Antony Dem. Ant. Dion and Brutus Dion Brut. Aratus Arat. Artaxerxes Art. Galba Galba Otho Otho Comparison Comp. vi Introduction ‘Regarding the virtues of women, Clea, I do not hold the same opinion as Thucydides. For he declares that the best woman is she about whom there is the least talk among persons outside regarding either censure or commendation, feeling that the name of the good woman, like her person, ought to be shut up indoors and never go out. But to my mind Gorgias appears to display better taste in advising that not the form but the fame of a woman should be known to many. Best of all seems the Roman custom, which publicly renders to women, as to men, a fitting commemoration after the end of their life.’ Plutarch, Mulierum virtutes 242e.2 The philosophical study of ethics—the analysis of what constitutes moral virtue—can perhaps be plainly outlined by a simple question: how should we live?3 The centrality of ethical inquiry in philosophical treatises was as apparent in Plutarch of Chaeronea’s time as it was in Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus and Zeno’s day. Despite the vast political and social changes that occurred from the 5th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, the relationship between ethics, rhetoric and politics was still considered an important one.4 For Plutarch, what constituted moral virtue was probably the most important theme of his assorted works.5 Russell claims that there is often a tone of authorial intimacy 2 Trans. Babbitt (1931). 3 Sauvé Meyer (2008) 1. 4 Vickers (1988). Zeyl (1987) ix-xv. Ancient philosophers recognised the significant moral implications of rhetoric. Plato’s Gorgias primarily attacks the ethical bankruptcy of the ‘art of rhetoric,’ ending with an exhortation to choose the life of a philosopher over that of the orator- politician, whom Socrates describes as a person who engages in the practices of pleasure rather than the good (an issue also revisited by Plato in the Phaedrus). Sachs (2009) 4. If the Gorgias is an attack on rhetoric, Aristotle’s Rhetoric is a classic defence of the genre. He claimed that rhetoric was merely an offshoot of dialectic and ethical studies into politics (Rhet. 1365a25-27). Cicero also attempted to reconcile the rhetoric-philosophy disjunction with the De Oratore. May and Wisse (2001) 3. Cicero criticises the philosopher’s theoretical approach to rhetoric but also maintains that the ideal orator must be a master of all verbal and written communication-including universal philosophical knowledge. Also see Kahn (1985) and Porter (1998).
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