Becoming Fond of Justice

Justice. Seems rational . . . at least in our world where it is paired with mercy. In our world it is a means to repentance, healing, and to creating order. In the world of Bakkhai, justice is a vicious, fiery, irrational cycle of self-interest. It started with Zeus himself. “It was Zeus who was to blame for the wrongdoing in her [Semele] bed” (pg 46). And yet, only one individual had to answer the demands of justice, and it wasn’t Zeus. As a god he "could" completely exempt himself from answering to those actions. Dionysos, as a god, felt as if he had been treated unjustly. And in Bakkhai we read that he sought justice by then being unjust himself. These flaws in the gods are human. Are we not guilty of being more fond of justice when it is being brought to our offenders rather than when we ourselves are the offenders? But, because Zeus and Dionysos are gods and not mortals, that is where justice turned irrational and embodied revenge rather than order. Justice requires an authority figure who abides by the law. It’s in our humanity to oppose that order. Yet, the rationality is found when the one establishing the demands of justice actually adheres to the law while the one answering to justice learns to overcome his or her humanity. I think this is the point Euripides was trying to make. That justice only has a rational framework when the two parties are at different understandings of justice; because otherwise both in their limited knowledge act self-centeredly and impose injustice upon each other.

I saw this growing up in my own family and in the families I babysat. Parents are not perfect. In my experience though, all honestly try to be just and merciful with each of their children. I have witnessed so many cases where one sibling believes no matter what the request or consequence is that it is unjust. This child would always compare their punishments and rewards to those of the other kids in the family, never recognizing that even similar situations have different outcomes because of the other child’s ability to accept the consequences and not fight it. Eventually, each child’s understanding of justice evolves and they learn to respond differently. This development helps keep order intact. Choices have consequences that we do not choose. And there are loving authority figures who are trying to help us overcome ourselves whom we need to acknowledge and listen to. This understanding is rational and to believe justice doesn't apply to us or that we are somehow exempt is irrational.