View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by CU Scholar Institutional Repository University of Colorado, Boulder CU Scholar Undergraduate Honors Theses Honors Program Spring 2012 Rebellious Performances: An Examination of the Gender Roles of Clytemnestra and Electra Bethany Nickerson University of Colorado Boulder Follow this and additional works at: http://scholar.colorado.edu/honr_theses Recommended Citation Nickerson, Bethany, "Rebellious Performances: An Examination of the Gender Roles of Clytemnestra and Electra" (2012). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 257. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Honors Program at CU Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of CU Scholar. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Rebellious Performances: An Examination of the Gender Roles of Clytemnestra and Electra Bethany Nickerson Honors Thesis-English Department Advisor: Jeffrey DeShell, English Cathy Preston, English John Gibert, Classics March 22, 2012 Nickerson 1 Abstract This thesis seeks to create an understanding of the mythological characters of Clytemnestra and Electra as they were portrayed by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. By examining these plays in conjunction with the historical setting in which they were written and performed, this discussion shows how these two female characters play masculine roles in order to achieve their desires. These fictional women reveal how the real-life women of Classical Athens, were always caught in a double bind due to the patriarchal society in which they lived. This thesis examines the plays of these playwrights in their original Greek in order to examine how these women play masculine roles though their actions as well as the very words they use.