Page:Measuring Euripides.djvu/20

 a fragment, "cowards in some respects, but in others none can exceed us in courage." (2) Her resourcefulness in arts, wiles, tricks, strategyms,—in short, in finding a way. (3) Women are more easily moved to tears and grief, and indulge in more violent lamentations than men, but are also more compassionate and more capable of arousing pity in others. (4) Love is woman's first concern and her honor is her dearest possession. (5) The women in Euripides' plays as a rule sympathize with and stand by each other, although one or two passages speak of their love of scandal and "a certain pleasure which they get from speaking ill of one another." Euripides does not enlarge much upon feminine vanity and love of dress, although he does not entirely neglect these matters. Finally, a passage or two may be classified as dealing with the psychology of sex more strictly and intimately than any of the foregoing.

How much women ought to know, and whether they do know anything or not is a question often raised. A passage from Medea is perhaps a fair example. She says of herself, "Often already have I gone through more refined reasonings and entered on greater arguments than it befits the female mind to investigate. But we have a muse, too, indwelling and for wisdom's sake,—not, however, in all cases, but in only a small fraction." Women would appear to have received slight book learning since Iphigenia among the Tauri has to get a captive to write a letter for her. Women often apologize when entering an argument or offering some suggestion to men, but the hero Theseus on one such occasion gallantly concedes that "there are many wise things even from females." But for all their apologies Euripides' women really argue as much and as well as the men—which indeed is not saying a great deal—and although he declares that their place is at home, he constantly portrays them upon his stage. This inconsistency and the amount of discussion devoted to women by him is a pretty sure sign that feminism was a very pressing problem in his day.

Euripides' very full and sympathetic treatment of family life we must pass over very briefly. Marriage and the sort of husband or wife one should have are themes discussed again and again. The bitter reflections of Hippolytus and Medea on marriage do not represent the prevailing opinion which is rather that "a man's best possession is a sympathetic wife" and that "a woman is happy if she has a loving husband." The love of husband and wife, motherhood, filial devotion, the affection of brother and sister, and other ties of family and kindred, are frequently and tenderly and knowingly depicted. Love of children is especially noticeable in Euripides' plays, although even here there are not lacking passages which argue in favor of childlessness. Stepmothers and illegitimate children are mentioned more than once in both the extant plays and the fragments. There is a