WGSS 380A Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Salmacis, Hermaphroditus, Euripides
13 Sep 2017
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She definitely breaks gender boundaries in large strides, choosing not to follow conventional guidelines set for women in ancient times. Instead of wallowing in self-pity and crying herself to sleep, she decides to take matters into her own hands when her husband marries another woman. While i don"t necessarily agree with the measures she took to get her revenge personally, i think her character is a great example of women straying from typical gender norms. She"s very bold in her actions, choosing to be blunt and masculine in many ways. For example, when killing her sons, she doesn"t use a roundabout method like the cursed garment she used to kill the princes; she kills her children with a sword. The fact that she had the guts to kill her two children, who are also both male puts into perspective that women are capable of also taking a man"s life.
