The evolution of human existence is propelled by a constant struggle to negotiate one's perception of self and one's perception of the other, and some of the most historically flawed (though pervasive) acts of negotiating an understanding of identity are politicized narcissism, oppression of the other and cultural mimicry-all of which seek collective agreement. The mother’s murder of her son is a necessary evil we accept the death of Pentheus as the inevitable defeat of his judgmental and moral idealism, but-because this act of brutality is performed by the mother of its victim, we also question the value of human existence above the existence of humanity (couldn’t she have just given him a slap on the hand and a good talking to and said, “Baby, some people live differently than others, but ain’t nobody better than the rest…”?) Perhaps the moral to the story is… The initial search for the identity of the individual is sacrificed for the identity of the collective, so we must now all live and speak in broad terms and forsake our sons and daughters for the ultimate good of humanity as we see it. Their humanity has been perceived as inhumane, and in defense of their right to preserve an identity and a culture for themselves, an extreme cruelty befitting of inhumanity is enacted. Dionysus and his worshippers can not be controlled or converted (colonized perhaps, but not converted). Real life death, sex, grief, joy, etc., in its entire splendor. His powers are amoral they are powers informed only by the powers that control human existence. In the casual study of classical realism, Pentheus is noble in his efforts to eradicate paganism, and Dionysus is an all powerful, demonic and immoral force…but in a more careful study ( or at least, an alternative one), we learn that Dionysus is a traditional Olympian God, neither good nor bad. Historically, academics have neatly interpreted the characters of The Bacchae as belonging to themes of good vs. Pentheus' disguise is as obvious as his voyeuristic tendencies, and it is because of this very visible elevated space he inhabits that he is quickly discovered and brutally dismembered by the possessed women on the mountain, lead by his own mother, who see him for what he is. The transformed soldier, now possessed by the spirit of Dionysus, is set on the highest branch of a fir tree, elevated above all and visible to none-or so he is lead to believe. Ultimately the young moralist's disguise mirrors the appearance of Dionysus (blonde, effeminate), the very God he seeks to conquer. In order to first handed witness the goings on of the inhumane, Pentheus must disguise himself as one of the inhumane. Dionysus derails the young warrior’s lofty mission by titillating his sexual curiosity (inviting him to take a quick glimpse of the drunken women as they revel in their lesbian orgy). When Pentheus sets out to infiltrate the world of the Bacchae and explore the mysteries of savage lore, his intention is to save the possessed women of Thebes (from themselves) who engage in hedonistic practices somewhere high in the mountains. Pentheus, the protagonists of Euripedes’ The Bacchae, was a young moralist and anarchical warrior who sought to abolish the worship of Dionysus (God of tradition, or perhaps better said…God of the re-cyclical, who causes the loss of individual identity in the uncontrollable chaotic eruption of ritualistic possession). In most cases the Black man lacks the advantageįrantz Fanon from “Black Skin, White Masks” An extraordinary sterile and arid region,Īn utterly naked declivity where an authentic
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