Lysistrata essay notes

As the policemen run off, the Commissioner and Lysistrata are left to argue about the Peloponnesian War. Lysistrata argues that the War is a concern for women especially and she adds her two cents as to how the city should be run, drawing an elaborate analogy to show that Athens should be structured as a woman would spin wool.

Lysistrata as an example of a pre-modern display of feminism in action, the foundations of the work demonstrate scheming and interfering women. War was serious business for men and women who had both the power and the desire to interfere with it would not have been thought of kindly.

"Lysistrata" is funny, but it makes a point. Women have brains, too, and want to be included in important decisions by the government. Pushing women aside, as the men of Athens and ome did, can only lead to trouble in the end, as these two works clearly indicate. If Aristophanes is biased, it seems he favors the women's demands for peace.

In response to the ongoing Peloponnesian war between Athens and Sparta, Lysistrata organizes the women of Athens to protest against the war, which continues to kill their husbands and sons. The manner of the protest is interesting, indeed.