How we cite our quotes: Line
Quote #4
Magistrate: "By Poseidon the Salty, it serves us right! When we ourselves abet our wives' misbehavior and teach them profligacy, these are the sort of schemes they bring to flower! Aren't we the ones who go to the shops and say this kind of thing: 'Goldsmith, about that choker you made me: my wife was having a ball the other night, and now the prong's slipped out of the hole. Me, I've got to cruise over to Salamis, so if you've got time, by all means visit her in the evening and fit a prong in the hole.' Another husband says this to a shoemaker, a teenager sporting no boyish cock: 'Shoemaker, about my wife's tootsy: the thong is squeezing her pinky winky, where she's tender. So why don't you drop in on her sometime and loosen it up so there's more play down there?' That's the sort of thing that's led to all this, when I, a Magistrate, have lined up timber for oars and now come to get the necessary funds, and find myself standing at the gates, locked out by women!" (403-430)
These lines by the Magistrate portray husbands as dunderheads who constantly give their wives the opportunity to commit infidelity—and wives as sex fiends who will jump at the opportunity. What does this say about the typical home-life among the Athenians? Do these people have warm and loving marriages with plenty of communication between husbands and their wives? Probably not so much.
Quote #5
Women's Leader: "Well, sir, you shouldn't lift your hand against your neighbors just anytime you feel like it. If you do, you're going to end up with a black eye. You see, I'd rather be sitting modestly at home like a maiden, bothering no one here, stirring not a single blade of grass. But if anyone annoys me and rifles my nest, they'll find a wasp inside." (471-475)
Here, the Women's Leader says that she doesn't mean to make trouble; really, she thinks traditional home life is just fine, and she wouldn't be bothering anybody if the men didn't bother her first. Do you take her at her word? Or is she being sarcastic when she talks about how she would much rather play a traditional feminine role in the home?
Quote #6
Magistrate: "But what do you plan to do?"
Lysistrata: "You're asking me that? We'll manage it for you."
Magistrate: "You'll manage the money?"
Lysistrata: "What's so strange about that? Don't we manage the household finances for you already?"
Magistrate: "That's different."
Lysistrata: "How so?"
Magistrate: "These are war funds!" (493-496)
In middle- and upper-class households (which could afford slaves and housekeepers) women were essentially managers of a large domestic workforce. Even in smaller households, however, women often had the role of managing the finances—as Lysistrata points out here. In fact, did you know that the word "economics" comes from the Ancient Greek word for "household management" (originally from oikos = "house")? Knowledge is power folks… and so is financial savvy. Based on her experience, Lysistrata thinks it's natural for women to take over managing the economics of the city, as well.