Trojan Women

One of the most prominent duties for the women in Trojan Women is the performance of ritual mourning. What does this ritual entail? How does it help us to understand the characters and themes of this play?

Cassandra, who is doomed to deliver true prophecies but never be believed, gives a series of speeches that leave Hecuba and the Chorus confused. In what way do we the audience interpret Cassandra’s message differently than Hecuba? How might this understanding affect how we interpret the entire play?

Despite the deeply tragic subject matter of Trojan Women, there are several hopeful or optimistic moments in the play. What causes for optimism can be found? How does this mitigate the tragedy of the play’s ending?

Almost all of the characters in this play are non-Greek (‘barbarian’) women, yet Euripides’ intended audience was made up of Athenian men. How does Euripides make his Trojan women sympathetic and relatable to his audience?

In Trojan Women, both Helen and the hero Odysseus are identified as untrustworthy, because they are persuasive speakers. Why is their rhetoric a threat? Why doesn’t Hecuba, who is also persuasive, receive the same criticism?

The choral odes, which break up the action between each episode, are only tangentially related to the play’s narrative. What do they add to the play, thematically, emotionally, or otherwise?

The god Poseidon delivers the play’s Prologue, with help from his sister Athena. After this, neither god returns. How does the Prologue relate to the rest of Trojan Women? How does it affect our interpretation of the play’s events?

A question that persists throughout Trojan Women is the extent to which the gods and fate drive the actions of mortals. How is this question examined throughout the play? Is there any resolution to the question?