Women of Trachis

A detailed Summary of Women of Trachis

"Who is right and who is wrong in Sophocles' Women of Trachis"?

The accustomed trait of all tragic heroes and heroines is to have a tragic flaw or

hamartia, and it is Heracles' possession of hubris (excessive pride) that brings about

the wrong doings of Deianeira and his eventual downfall. While there is often a

discussion of the role of fate in the downfall of a tragic hero, there must be an element

of choice in order for there to be a true tragedy. The tragic hero falls because they

choose one course of action over another- evident in "Women of Tracis" from

Deianeira's action to use supposed magic. Therefore it could be argued that none of

the characters in "Women of Trachis" are essentially wrong, it is just natural human

error and the innate qualities of a tragic hero and heroine. Even so one could reason

that the characters should have thought of the outcomes before their actions and that

the disastrous end of Heracles was inevitable as it was the predicament of the oracles

Deianeira means no harm by her actions. She merely wishes to do good for the sake

of herself and her family. Like Ajax's Tecmessa, Deianeira is a socially marginalized

went through to capture the girl make Deianeira suspicious and lead her to act in the

their actions, they innocently thought they were doing good.

being innocent and not knowing that your actions could be the wrong ones.

Consequently it is only reasonable that a woman should do all she can to keep hold of

Approximate Word count = 1705
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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