Illustrating the Irrational with the Rational

In high school—a place where the "rational" skips class and irrationality abounds—I danced. Dance was an art, a techne, a release that provided me with a medium through which to physically express irrational ideas and feelings in a rational way.

For example, we choreographed pieces about everything from dejá vu, the Holocaust, slave-holding, and war; to family, friendship, and love; to the idea of individuality and transcendence. We dissected and explored the topics in order to correctly translate their qualities into movement and shape. As I rehearsed and performed, these rather abstract or irrational concepts became more concrete and understandable to me. Then, I talked about them with members of my audience.

Just as dance was my rational way of coming to understand and converse about the irrational, theater was a logical mechanism for the ancient Greeks to analyze the illogical. Dr. Burton asked, "Does the highly formal nature of [a] play give a more discernible way of talking about the issues?" I say yes. In his play, Bakkhai, Euripides examines the intangible topic of gender roles through a tangible portrayal of women followers of the god Dionysos.

What struck me was the fact that the women abandon their traditional roles--those of homemaking and childrearing-- to "hunt wild beasts with [their] hands" (line 1237). Gross! I ask, "Why in the world would women go into a killing frenzy in such a way?" It could be that they're tired of their shuttles and looms (line 1235), that they feel oppressed by a patriarchal society, or that they just can't control the beast that lies in each of us. But the bakkhai take it to such an extreme that their rebellion becomes irrational.

I am unfamiliar with the way ancient Greeks valued women, but it seems to me that the women want more recognition. Take Agaue's wild cry for credit when she says, "I am overjoyed; great things have I achieved, great and manifest for this land" (lines 1197-99) and displays the head of her son.

Just as I did in dance, by creating a formal example of an abstract idea--such as gender issues-- Euripides' play provides a name and a face to use in further conversations about the irrational.