Libation Bearers Lesson Plan

What does Electra mean when she says only Orestes can bring her honor?

Electra says only Orestes can bring her honor for two reasons: 1) she is not free to do anything because she is subjected to Clytaemnestra and Aegisthus, and 2) even if she were free, she would still need Orestes because the whole reason they are in this situation is that Clytaemnestra, a woman, did not play her role as a woman correctly. Orestes must be the one to avenge Agamemnon, not Electra, or else she would commit the same sin that her mother did by asserting herself in a masculine way by killing Agamemnon.

Discuss the role of the Chorus in this section. What do they encourage in Orestes...