s the program: Total Abstinence From SEX!Why are you turning away? Where are you going?---- what’s this? Such gloomy stricken expressions!Such gloomy gestures!---- Why so pale?Whence these tears?-----What IS this?Will you do it or won’t you?Cat got your tongue? (Norton p679.128-132)The responses Lysistrata receives from the majority of the women show the women’s interest in maintaining sexual relations with their husbands and lovers, even at the expense of the war. These women would rather “walk through fire barefoot” (Norton p679.139) than give up sex. Who say’s men are the only ones after sex! The only woman who sticks by Lysistrata at the beginning is Lampito. The others could not figure out how the plan would work. Lysistrata explains how it will work in this passage:Certainly, here’s how it works:We’ll paint, powder, and pluck ourselves to the lastDetail, and stay inside wearing those filmyTunics that set off everything we have ----and thenslink up to the men. They’ll snap to attention, goabsolutely mad to love us---but we won’t let them. We’ll abstain.--- I imagine they’ll conclude a treaty rather quickly.After this speech, she was once again met with criticism and questions from the women. Lysistrata was well prepared for this. For every argument, she had a rebuttal.Aristophanes illustrated the women’s perceived weakness during this point in history. He used this to show that the women believed the men had the power and that they, as women, were powerless to stop anything the men decided to do. In addition, he shows how the men of the time feel about women taking charge. The following two passages demonstrate this quite well:Swifty say’sI’m never surprised. At my age, lifeis just one damned thing after another.And yet, I never thought my wifeWas anything more than a home-grown bother.But now, dadblast her,She’s a Nation...
