Clytaemnestra: Heroine or Lunatic?

            In Aeschylus’ trilogy The Oresteia, the character Clytaemnestra, the wife of Agamemnon and mother of Orestes, has been called a strong woman because she controls her emotions, gives commanding orders, and “kicks butt.” However, I would argue, after reading several psychology articles on the subject and reflecting on Scripture, that Clytaemnestra is not a strong woman at all, but is, in fact, a psychopath. We can see certain traits that Clytaemnestra has in common with a psychopath throughout the first two books of Aeschylus’ trilogy, Agamemnon and The Libation Bearers. These traits include the mastery of small talk, the constant manipulation of her fellow human beings, and the lack of many genuine emotions.
            Clytaemnestra demonstrates great skill in making small talk. In the play Agamemnon, she says to a newly arrived captive from Troy, “Won’t you come inside? I mean you, Cassandra. / Zeus in all his mercy wants you to share / some victory libations with the house” (Ag.,1032-1034). Later, in the play The Libation Bearers, Clytaemnestra greets her son, whom she had exiled as a baby, and his friends, saying: “Strangers, please, tell me what you would like and it is yours … We have warm baths and beds to charm away your pains / and the eyes of Justice look on all we do” (Lib., 650-653). This skill earns her the admiration of her people. They praise her, saying, “my lady, loyal, full of self-command” (Ag., 355-336) and “We’ve come, Clytaemnestra. We respect your power” (Ag., 258-259). The leader of the Chorus says about Clytaemnestra, “She speaks well, but it takes no seer to know she only says what’s right” (Ag., 612-613). According to an article published in Psychology Today by Amy Morin, “Psychopaths are almost always well-liked. They come across as delightful people great at making small talk.” As with most psychopaths, Clytaemnestra’s words are not genuine, but tools for manipulation.
            Clytaemnestra repeatedly uses words in attempts to persuade, fool, and manipulate other people in order to achieve her will. “Words, endless words I’ve said to serve the moment” (Ag., 1391). She cajoles the slave, Cassandra, to get off the chariot because she wants to kill her inside the palace. She says, “Down from the chariot, / this is no time for pride” (Ag., 1038-1041). Clytaemnestra attempts to distract the Chorus from her murderous intentions by making a show of love for the husband whom she has been plotting to kill. She states, “I am not ashamed to tell you / how I love the man…when a woman sits at home, and the man is gone, / the loneliness is terrible … the rumors [of Agamemnon’s death] broke like fever… they cut me down” (Ag., 842-864). In an article by Joaquin Hagopian, published by Global Research in 2014, he writes, “Psychopaths see others in terms of how they can be conveniently and cunningly used … They have no trouble putting on the act of emotions when they are determined to manipulate others, most often into feeling guilty or sympathetic toward them.” Clytaemnestra uses displays of emotion to attain her will but does not show any genuine emotion except for anger.            
            Clytaemnestra acts calm and even silly in the face of calamity and only shows anger when circumstances block her desires. When Clytemnestra’s servant rushes up and down the halls of her palace shouting a harrowing message that Clytaemnestra can’t understand, she says, “Ah, a riddle, I do well at riddles” (Lib., 874). When it is revealed that the servant was screaming about the death of Aegisthus, Clytaemnestra’s lover, she merely remarks, “Gone, my violent one—Aegisthus, very dear” (Lib., 880). Even when her own son is threatening to kill her, she handles this, too, with irrational calmness, saying to her son, “Watch out—the hounds of a mother’s curse will hunt you down” (Lib., 911). Her reactions, lacking the normal emotional responses, do not match up with these events. Joaquin Hagopian writes, “[Psychopaths] do not feel fear, sadness, regret or disgust that the rest of us experience.” According to the article, this lack of emotion enables these psychopaths to remain calm under what most would view as extremely stressful situations. However, Clytaemnestra does display genuine anger when she does not get her way. She invites Agamemnon to walk on tapestries to make a big show of his triumph over Troy. Agamemnon disagrees, saying that walking on tapestries is an honor “only the gods deserve” (Ag., 915), and continues to argue with her. Finally, she shouts, “Oh give way! … Surrender / all of your own free will to me!” (Ag., 938-939) According to Hagopian’s article, “the only genuine emotion psychopaths express is anger whenever their manipulations are thwarted or rebuffed.” So while her anger is genuine, it is not a righteous anger.
            Should being an expert at small talk to get people to like you, manipulating people to do your will and becoming angry when people won’t do your will be considered evidence of strength? While some regard Clytemnestra as a role model, a strong woman who makes tough decisions, I argue that she is not. If we look to the one true role model of strength—Jesus—Clytaemnestra is a sham. Jesus in fact behaved in ways that are the opposite of Clytaemnestra’s behavior. Rather than engage in small talk, Jesus emphasized the importance of what he was saying by using phrases like, “Verily I say unto you,” or “Amen, I say to you,” and the words he said were not always pleasing to people. In fact, as Jesus was well aware, this led to many hating Him. Jesus says in John 15:18, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” Jesus also never used his words to manipulate anyone into obeying His will. In Revelation 3:20 we read, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” Jesus only offers his Way to us. Could it be that the world’s conception of strength is askew? Webster’s Dictionary defines strength as the “capacity for exertion or endurance.” Isaiah 40:29 says our strength comes from somewhere else—“He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.” The Apostle Paul writes in his second letter to the Corinthians (12:10) that “when I am weak, then I am strong.” Only when we rely fully on God can we be truly strong. Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). Perhaps we can find our role model of a strong woman in the person of Jesus’ mother Mary, who showed true strength when she surrendered her life to God, saying in Luke 1:38, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." What was Mary’s advice on how to be strong? Mary said, “Do whatever He tells you” (John 2:5).