Ethos vs Logos, Electra vs Chrysothemis

Throughout Electra you can see that there are several strong arguments being made. Electra although perhaps justified in her hatred is only apt to see her own point of view while missing the option to add a counter argument by perhaps looking at what her sister Chrysothemis or her mother have to say. Her only persuasion is her strong use of an emotional appeal (Pathos).

Delivery aides in her pathological appeal. Throughout the play she is wailing and swinging her arms around and using many facial and physical gestures to make her point. This process works, everyone and I mean everyone within ear shot knows her point of view and the reasons backing it up.

Her sister on the other had uses delivery in another way. She is calm and collected and as mentioned by Katlynn Dalton, this makes Electra’s ideas seem a little far-fetched. Chrysothemis uses a logical appeal (logos). Personally I think this appeal is more alluring because her views aren’t tainted by immense hatred. Electra would have done well to listen to her sister if only to make a logical counterargument to convince the audience that she has more reason to kill her mother then her intense undying anger.

When her mother is finally killed delivery is utilized to help the narration of the play draw in the audience. The most intense moment of the play is narrated. The moment when Orestes and Electra go into the house to kill their mother. At first I thought this strange but then I realized that it allowed for the audience to imagine the event rather than try and act it out. In the end I thought this was a great way to utilize the imagination. The delivery of the narration was really what made this moment great. The chorus’s actions and the anticipation in their voice as they asked what was happening within the house created a shock factor. The delivery was vital to a good narration. Without a well-acted delivery this scene would have been boring. That is the power of acting.

All in all Electra uses an excessive amount of pathos and Chrysothemis uses mostly a logical appeal. Both have different delivery styles which add or detract from their arguments. Delivery also adds to rest of the performance enhancing it greatly. 

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