The story of Alcestis is
portrayed by Euripides in the tragedy “Alcestis”.
Alcestis is the pathetic sufferer of fate. She is the daughter of king Pelias
and the wife of Admetus. In that contemporary society woman was considered either
as a Goddess or a witch based on their character. The chastity and kindness of
Alcestis assistances to deserve the higher position as Goddess in the society. There
is a connection of feminism in this text. According to the feminist theory,
"Gender may be a factor in how human
beings represent reality"- Wikipedia
If a woman can sacrifice
her for the man, then she is great but if she fails to give then she is nothing
and this situation is not effective for the man. The father and mother of
Admetus rejects the proposal of dying for their son. They are old enough but
they want to live and enjoy the earth more. So there is nobody but Alcestis to
sacrifice her lives and keep her husband alive.
Alcestis was the mythical
queen of Thessaly. She is so kind and beautiful and Admetus fall in a love with
her. Though Alcestis had many suitors she chooses Admetus to marry. Admetus got
the chance to marry her by fulfilling the conditions of her father. He won the
battle against a lion and wild boar by the help of Apollo. Then they marry each
other. The couple was living happily for many years and Admetus forgot to make
the mandatory sacrifice for Artemis. One day he found his bed is full of snake.
Apollo again saved him and told to find someone who will sacrifice his or her
lives for him. This sacrifice will make Admetus immortal. But no one wanted to
do so for him. Even the old father and mother refused to sacrifice though they
have very short time on the earth. Only the loving wife Alcestis became agree
to accept the death bed for her husband. Here the mental sufferings of Alcestis
began. Alcestis drifts on the border between life and death. She thinks about
what she should do actually? To become a devoted wife or selfish queen? Admetus
became confuse. He never wants to lose Alcestis but also wants the immortality.
Alcestis is determined to sacrifice herself for her husband. Admetus accepted
her sacrifice and Alcestis started to be weaker.
“Why
is everyone so quite
Here
at the palace? Why there is no sound?
Not
one friend of Admetus near to tell us
Whether
the queen, Alcestis, daughter of Pelias,
Is
dead, and we should mourn her” - Alcestis
Page-22
The whole city falls into
mourning for Alcestis. Alcestis is the noblest wife as they ever seen. Nobody
wants to for another. The fiction between reality and illusion is portrayed
here. There is no one to die for Admetus but Alcestis wants because of her
love, illusion and innocence. She is in the situation of self-torturing. She fights
against the reality. At last the purity of her love won and the reality loses.
Finally, she accepts the death. Though Alcestis was not forced to die but she
had to do it to save her husband and to secure the bright future for her
children. And his death is not a simple death. It is also the death of assuring
her honor in the society.
“He doesn’t know how good she is;
but suffering will teach them” - Alcestis, Page-24.
Admetus is not much aware
about the death of his wife and the losing of her wife. The main focus of
Alcestis is to be immortal. This is a sign of domination in the society. But in
the view of the servant of the palace Admetus will suffer a lot. A wife like
Alcestis is not easy to get. The love of Alcestis was great and it is not
possible for any other wife to take the place of Alcestis. She was only one and
the perfect match for Admetus in this world.
After the death of
Alcestis, Admetus become woeful. He thinks that the decision of Alcestis was
wrong. Now it is impossible to live without her. The recovering of the gap of
Alcestis is impossible.
“For she has rendered up her life
for yours, my son.
She would not see me childless,
let me waste away
Into a miserable old age,
deprived of you.
By her courageous, noble
sacrifice she gives
New dignity of life to the whole
female sex.” – Alcestis, Page-38
Though Pheres the father
of Admetus refused to die for her son now he thanks Alcestis to save his
generation. He thinks Alcestis as noble wife because she had sacrificed her
life. It seems that he was wanted Alcestis to die to save his generation and a
female in this position should do it because only sacrifice can bring the honor
and dignity of a woman.
“Great
son of greatest Zeus! May he who fathered you
Prosper and keep you all your days! For you
alone
Have raised again my shattered life. All
blessing on you!” – Alcestis, Page-55
Heracles the friend of
Alcestis came to know about the death of his friend’s wife. He secretly decides
to fight with death and bring Alcestis back to his friend. Thus he became the
winner and bring back Alcestis to the palace.
The unequal relationship
plays an important role in this play. There is a huge difference between the
male and female in the society. It seems that the ancient Greek was based on
the male dominating society. Pheres and Admetus is the true example of
dominator. They don’t want to die but appreciate when a woman steps to do it. The
unselfish sacrifice of Alcestis illustrates the role of women in the Greek society.
She is known as the most kind-hearted, beloved, honest and devoted wife in
palace. Without any confusion it is clear that Alcestis is the true symbol of
purity and innocence.
The hospitality, friendship, sacrifice and domination
are represented brilliantly by the writer Euripides. There are benefit of being
pure and innocence in this world. The sacrifice of Alcestis gave her the great
honor and she also got the reward of immortality. Thus the character Alcestis
is successfully portrayed by Euripides. This play has also become a popular
text for women’s studies.
