Women of Troy - BP2 example

Question 1

TS

Answer 1

Although Euripides praises those who are motivated by duty for the greater good, he warns of self-serving and fatuous individuals who are driven to fulfil a duty which exploits others.

Question 2

Elab. Menelaus

Answer 2

Attempting to re-establish his superiority and status in reclaiming Helen, Menelaus declares that his ‘real motive was to get [his] hands on the man who stole [his] wife.’

Question 3

Analysis Menelaus 1

Answer 3

While he claims a sense of duty in pursuing Paris, ‘the man’ who kidnapped Helen, his underlying motivation is solely focused on his personal desire to reclaim Helen as his property, allowing him to assert his dominance and power under the guise of fulfilling a duty to protect.

Question 4

Segue

Answer 4

Subsequently, Euripides reinforces this facade through those who use manipulation whilst hiding behind the pretense of fulfilling a duty to accept their fate.

Question 5

Elab. Helen

Answer 5

Desperate to bargain for her life, Helen blames Hecuba for giving ‘birth to Paris,’ and paints herself as a saleable asset, attributing her predicament to the ‘destructive power of love.’

Question 6

Analysis Helen 1

Answer 6

Utilising cunning acts of sophism, Helen portrays herself as a helpless victim and an ‘asset,’ rather than taking responsibility for the consequence of her actions.

Question 7

Analysis Helen 2

Answer 7

This continues to reflect Helen’s manipulative nature by taking advantage of her feminine charms, rather than accepting her fate and fulfilling an obligation to die as a result of starting the war.

Question 8

VVS

Answer 8

Overall, in response to the decisions made by the War Party within the Ecclesia, Euripides castigates those who use duty and obligation to satisfy their personal desires at the expense of others.