House of Names... and Feminism10/8/2021 Colm Tóibín, Irish author, playwright, and teacher can be seen as a feminist author. This statement itself is highly accusing and can be taken in very different directions. Feminist authors use their writing to express their beliefs and help other understanding the detriments of feminism itself. Tóibín is no stranger to doing so. In his work House of Names, a rewrite of The Oresteia, it is clearly known of his viewpoints and understandings of the feminist perspective. With many enticing characters and switches to other points of view, Tóibín creates a magical story out of an old one and shows the values and importance of feminism during that time period. These ideas can be applied to today and are useful for education.
Summary: Much like Christa Wolf's Cassandra justice and revenge play a huge role in discovering the plot of House of Names. Previously, Agamemnon sacrificed his and Clytemnestra's daughter, Iphigenia. In Aulis, Agamemnon lies to Clytemnestra and their children, Iphigenia and Orestes, about their attendance to Iphigenia's wedding. He sacrifices her and jails Clytemnestra for three days where she ten swears for revenge. After Agamemnon returns from war, he is brutally murdered by Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. For most of the novel, we follow Orestes in his many years of escaping from being kidnapped by Aegisthus' men. Following this, the point of view changes to that of Electra, Clytemnestra's other daughter who blames her for Iphigenia's death. This story provides more insight the background and plot holes from the Oresteia that readers itch to hear about. With just in the midst of hearing this summary, one can conclude the ideas of his feminism and ideologies represented with his writing and characters. Specifically, Clytemnestra’s daughter Electra. Tóibín does not follow normalcies when describing feminism. Meaning, he strays away from directly saying females are worse than men, or they are weaker, or full showing that the female characters are not as well off than the male ones. He, instead, writes his views and shows the importance in Electra herself. He writes her in a way that she is the one who thinks she is weaker and not as well off. She believes she needs a husband to survive and will not thrive as long. By doing this, Tóibín is showing how females then, and now, feel like this and need to understand they can do things themselves and do not need a male figure do it for them. Electra herself has a negative aspect and connotation when speaking of House of Names. She represents anger and revenge and fury. Because of this, the idea of writing her as someone who is the opposite of a feminist shows his own feelings toward the subject. Readers then interpret it as a rage toward these people and relate the feelings together. Tóibín successfully plots his characters and ideas into his story for readers to see importance and view his own beliefs.
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