Everyone has sought to get revenge in their lives and it wasn't until reading
Bakkhai that I realized how irrational revenge is. We don't like the outcome of an event, or we feel personally victimized by a situation, and it compels us to do some of the most irrational things.
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Tommy and I couldn't even pretend to
get along and be happy at The Happiest
Place on Earth, Disneyland. |
Dionysus was the son of Zeus and Semele (a human). Although he was born of the most powerful god, none of the royal family accepted him as one of their own. Dionysus always had a hatred towards the gods for rejecting him, wanted to get revenge and show them that he is truly an honorable god. He went around getting humans to worship him in the woods. He is so fixated on people following him, that when he has a hard time convincing King Pentheus, he tricks him into spying on the women in the woods, which ends in Pentheus getting ripped apart by none other than his mother Agave. In the end of the play it never does say if the gods respected Dionysus and welcomed him, but my opinion is that they don't. If they didn't respect him in the past fully knowing that he was the son of Zeus, then they would most likely not respect him after showing his power upon humans.
When I was younger, my cousin Tommy and I
hated each other. He would push my buttons every time he could, and I would go crazy. One time I remember in particular was when he kept hitting and knocking me over just to be mean. After about a half hour of this, I finally went up to him an bit him in the back so hard it made him bleed. My parents taught me to never bite, and that was one rule I always followed--except this one instance. I went completely against my better judgement to show Tommy that I wasn't his punching bags, and man did it feel good! In the end, Tommy still would pick on me and nothing changed, but I felt like I had to do something just like Dionysus.
Perfect example! I think another factor in irrationality that you kind of hinted at in the end is helplessness. When you feel like you've got nothing to lose, and your pride needs you to take some kind of action, you do things like bite people. It's funny how we can find self-preservation and even take pride in irrational behaviors more than rational ones. Biting your cousin was a form of release that probably prevented a further build up that would have led to an even more extreme form of irrational behavior.
ReplyDeleteInteresting perspective! I guess I got caught up in all of the irrational aspects of the story and didn't realize that what it all boiled down to was revenge and even pride. I know that I have often acted irrationally during moments of vengeance. And I loved your example with the biting. I got in trouble for that multiple times as a child. No worries, I don't bite anymore.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how we teach that vengeance or anger never solves anything, and yet it is our inherent nature to do those things when we are wronged or attacked. Why is that so? It makes you think why our psyche is programmed that way, especially as little children.
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