1> In the play *Women of Troy*, Euripides illustrates the horrendous effect on the human spirit of extreme loss and grief. Discuss. 2 3### Topic sentences 4 5- The sadness and exhaustion of Hecuba represents how one's persistence and hope may be enforced by these experiences, acting as a personification of the city of Troy. 6 7- Astyanax, acting as a symbol for innocence and peace, represents the deep hole that is left when these characteristics are absent from society, expressed by Hector and Andromache's responses. 8 9- Euripides explores how Hecuba deals with grief and loss through the prospect of hope 10 11- Modelled by the character of Cassandra, Euripides explores how an extreme level of loss and grief can strengthen the human spirit. 12 13- Euripides explores the grief and effect on the human spirit through the contrasting emotions of Hecuba and Cassandra, highlighting the opposing reactions of hope and revenge. 14 15- Euripides demonstrates extreme grief and loss in the human spirit through Andromache’s hopelessness. 16 17- The effect of human spirit explored by Euripides during a time of loss and grief is displayed through the character Hecuba, showing that responding with hope and an optimistic attitude can support others who are also suffering 18 19- Loss and grief can be so damaging that it can render people utterly hopeless. 20 21- Despite the extreme dereustation, Hecuba is still able to muster hope. 22 23### Essay plan 24 25- The sadness and exhaustion of Hecuba represents how one's persistence and hope may be enforced by these experiences, acting as a personification of the city of Troy. 26 27- - _“The lucky ones are dead”_ 28- - _“I won’t sleep on a royal mattress anymore”_ 29- - _"an old woman fallen flat on her face"_ 30 31- Astyanax, acting as a symbol for innocence and peace, represents the deep hole that is left when these characteristics are absent from society, expressed by Hector and Andromache's responses. 32 33- - 34 35- The character of Cassandra shows how grief may actually strengthen the human spirit, a great contrast to other characters. 36 37- - _"She’s happier dead than I am living"_ 38 39### Essay 40 41The play _Women of Troy_ presents many characters who suffer from grief and loss - most significantly, Hecuba, Andromache, and Cassandra. These characters highlight great contrasts in the way that individuals may respond to emotional hardship. This allows Euripides to show that personal losses are undeniably horrible events, but it is the individual's response to it that determines the outcome. 42 43The sadness and exhaustion of Hecuba represents how one's courage and hope may be enforced by these experiences. Hecuba is the only character in the play who is constantly persistent and hopeful. Even in the worst of times, as the women are "butchered like an animal" by the Greeks, she is able to "lift up [her] head from the dust", pained but accepting that she must push on for herself and for those around her. This spirit is persistent through the play - Hecuba is seemingly the most tired and depressed of the group, but she still manages to fight through the hardships. Her hope seems to dwindle in the final scene of the play, after witnessing the young, innocent body of Astyanax. She is near hopelessness and laments that "she has taken your life, and utterly destroyed your family". However, she is still able to unite the women of Troy and uses her community as an positive outlet for her grief. Thus, the character of Hecuba is an example of how grief and loss causes one to become withered and exhausted, whilst also motivating persistence and courage. 44 45Andromache has a similar reaction to the grief she experiences, but also longs for comfort and protection from others around her. She echoes much of the grieving heard from Hecuba, as the pair takes turns: "What grieving is like mine?" "My suffering". However, Andromache poses an additional element to this expression. Since she is younger, she has not had the "howl of agony" instilled in her so deeply, relying more on the validation and comfort from her family. Andromache desperately calls for late Hector to "protect me now, as you've always done", and almost gives up when she says "No, no more... I can't bear it". She then relies on the validation and affirmation of Hecuba, saying "Dear Mother, listen". In this example, it is clear that Andromache deals with her sorrow by commiserating with those around her, but ultimately this strengthens her in the same way as Hecuba. 46 47Cassandra responds to grief in an unusual way: more passively than Hecuba, but with revenge and whole-hearted irrationality. After she is raped by Ajax, her father Priam murdered, and her hometown of Troy invaded, readers expect her to be mournful, but her "half-crazed state" causes quite the opposite. Cassandra simply wants revenge, as she states that Odysseus will "be shipwrecked more than once" and that Agamemnon "will find [her] more destructive as a wife than ever Helen was!". This shows how Cassandra, regardless of her inherent irrationality, responds to these events with further rash and violent decisions. One factor which may contribute to Cassandra's response is her ability to prophesy - she knows that her enslavement is inevitable, so she accepts it instead of preventing it, and plans subsequent revenge on Agamemnon and Odysseus. This is a great contrast to the reflective state that Hecuba and others adopt, but Euripides presents it as another impact of grief. 48 49_Women of Troy_ shows three distinct impacts of grief: increased persistence, reliance on others, and revenge. Euripides contrasts how these are displayed by different characters, and the prior personality traits that contribute to one's response to trauma. However, it is clear that trauma may be horrendous and perpetual regardless of the situation, and the benefits are never worth the pain. 50 51- Cassandra's revengeful spirit is shown when she commits to be "more destructive a wife than ever Helen was", referring to her desire to get revenge on Agamemnon 52 53 54> Euripides’ The Women of Troy shows the cost of war is widespread – for both the victors and the defeated. Do you agree? 55 56(700 words) 57 58**Plan** 59 60- Astyanax - loss of peace/innocence, hope for Troy 61- graphic/violent passages 62- Talthybius - sacrifice of morality/humanity for victory 63- - “I took the opportunity to wash the body…” (Astyanax) 64- detriment of city Troy, even those not directly involved 65- localised detriment - Hecuba, chorus 66 67In *The Women of Troy*, the universal pain and detriment of war is frequently exemplified. This is shown through the experiences of Talthybius, Hecuba, and Cassandra. Despite these characters approaching the time of war from different backgrounds, they are all worse off for the violence and grief of the Trojan War, regardless of their respective victory or loss. 68 69Hecuba prominenty displays pain and sorrow in the play, acting as an intimate representation of the "wretched women of Troy". More broadly, Hecuba, a fairly "normal" citizen of Troy, symbolises the society of the city and the widespread grief they experienced as a result of Menelaus' actions. She laments that "the lucky ones are dead", referring to her desire to give up due to the inescapable conflict around her. This emphasises how the effects of the Trojan War are not localised - they permeate the city, "mother of us all", turning it into an "image of death". As a result, Euripides uses the character of Hecuba to personify Troy and represent the indiscriminating effect of war on its society. 70 71Conflict results in the sacrifice of civillians, an unnecessary and gruesome atrocity. This is shown primarily through Astyanax and the loss of innocence, hope, and peace that his death represents. After the graphic depiction of Astyanax being "butchered like an animal", the remaining inhabitants of Troy feel a sense of loss of their future, as the young boy was their last hope for revenge. Clearly his murder was unnecessary and caused severe grief and sorrow for Hecuba and others, expressed by the attack on Talthybius that he was "so frightened of a child [he] had to invent this unheard of savagery". The disgust and shock of the women is further exemplified when they mounr "what a wretched, meaningless death has been meted out to you". Further, despite Astyanax's potential to help "sad Troy" as he grows up, he does not pose an immediate threat to the Greeks. However, they still choose to murder him out of greed and pleasure, a tendency which has been ingrained in them due to their continued success. This is shown by Euripides as one of the greatest sources of detriment in a time of war - the needless and senseless killing of civillians by those in power. 72 73Despite the horrendous effects on the citizens of Troy, the Greek invaders are also affected to some extent by their success. This is not as obvious in the play, but the character of Talthybius consistently shows the regret and detriment of the Greeks after each advancement on their opponent. Showing some remorse for the actions of the society to which he belongs, Talthybius particularly struggles bringing bad news to the members of Troy. Relaying terrible events to those directly affected by them, he struggles to not "degrade the decency of speech" in his messages. However, there are several times at which he regrets "there is no decent way to say an indecent thing". After Astyanax is killed, he "took the opportunity to wash the body", even admitting "I'm not half hard enough". These statements show a glimpse of the more sensitive, sympathetic side of the officer, which is brought out by the remorse for the atrocities of war. This regret and guilt felt by Talthybius is implicitly echoed by other members of the Greek army, since the ubiquity of Talthybius acts as a proxy for the other soldiers. Regret and guilt are posed as negative outcomes of the Trojan war, thus showing the effect of conflict even on those who win it. 74 75Euripides extensively explores the effects of war on individuals and societies, and this results in a clear mesage for readers: war is undesirable and unnecessary irrespective of one's position. The universal pain felt by characters during the Trojan war is an explicit and extreme case which the play urges societies to take heed of and prevent. 76 77> How does Euripides explore the impact that grief has on people and the various reactions? 78 791. Hecuba - represents women. Grief brings out her perseverence and hope. 802. Cassandra - 813. Andromache - mournful (husband, Astyanax) 824. Chorus - suffering 83 84Euripides shows how grief may bring out further perseverence and hope in individuals in response to horriffic events. This is evident through Hecuba's continued persistence through the "country of forgotten shadows", as she experiences tragedy after tragedy and is "stabed to the brain" by the Greeks. 85 86Grief can also cause horrendous and perpetual suffering for those who experience it. This is 87 88> How does Euripides condemn war? 89 90- violence against women 91- men == bad ???? 92- war impacts everyone (incl. women & children) 93- everyone loses 94- graphic imagery (e.g. Astyanax) 95- war challenges morality 96 97The treatment of women is used in *Women of Troy* in order to condemn war. 98 99> How does Euripides explore the power of women? 100 101- powerlessness of women 102- use of sexuality (Helen) 103- rejection of stereotypical roles (Cassandra) 104- leadership to instill hope in others 105-