Peer Pressure and Inhibitions |
The change in the settings of the play, the fact that the followers of Dionysus go out of the city into the wilderness, helps provide framework for the play and even supplies a theme or moral for the story. In the beginning of the class we talked about what makes a civilization. I think that Euripides is arguing in this play that inhibitions and self-control are also necessary for civilized life because they distinguish humans from animals.
I am taking a psychology class this semester and we are currently talking about the brain and the specific parts that control different aspects of our human lives. One part of the brain is in charge of our personality and self-control. It was interesting to listen to the stories of people who have injured this part of their brains, resulting in a more aggressive personality and increased sexual drive, and then reading this play which focuses on the same changes but with a supernatural cause instead of a physical one. The fact that Euripides grouped these two symptoms, violence and sexuality, without a knowledge of the specialized sections of the brain, is very impressive and tells us a little more about human nature.
Euripides certainly does seem to expand on the idea of civilization by contrasting it with the wilderness. The wilderness possibly symbolizes irrational pursuits, while civilization represents law and order.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting you mention about us talking about civilization at the beginning of the semester. I had the same thoughts as I was reading this. I agree that self-control is completely necessary for us to have a civilization.
ReplyDeleteAs a psychology major I enjoyed this very much. It's interesting to note that human behavior changes greatly when we are in groups of people, and how it changes depends on the people!
ReplyDelete