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ELECTRA SUMMARY Electra opens in Mycenae, in Ancient Greece. Before we can delve into this story, we need a bit of back story. When Agamemnon, the resident King, returned from the Trojan War, his wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus murdered him and usurped the throne. The daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, Electra, smuggled her brother Orestes out of town so that he could grow up safe in a foreign land and come back some day to avenge their dad. And that day is now. Orestes is back in town and he is ready for revenge. He brings with him the old slave who smuggled him out of the palace the day Agamemnon was murdered. In addition, Orestes brings his buddy Pylades who, as far as we can tell, will be like to a prop for the rest of this play. Orestes hatches a plan with these men: the old slave will go to the palace and pretend to be a messenger from Phocis bringing news of Orestes's death. Meanwhile, Orestes and Pylades will go pay their respects to Agamemnon's grave. Now we jump to Electra – Orestes's sister who stayed behind in Mycenae after Agamemnon was murdered. Because she refuses to embrace the new king and because she won't forgive her mother for murdering her father, she's abused on a regular basis by the royal couple. She spends all day grieving and praying that Orestes will soon return to Mycenae to right these royal wrongs. In contrast, her sister, Chrysothemis, kisses up to Clytemnestra and Aegisthus and lives a life of comfort. The two sisters argue extensively about whose course of action is better. Electra maintains that they have a filial duty to see their father's murderers brought to justice, while Chrysothemis pragmatically decides that there's nothing to be gained from snubbing the King and Queen. Next we get an intense scene between Electra and her mother, Queen Clytemnestra. Electra calls her a murdering sinner, but the Queen has her own side of the story. Agamemnon sacrificed their daughter Iphigenia in order to get his ships home from the Trojan War. That Agamemnon sacrificed Iphigenia infuriates the Queen. In her mind, her husband deserved to die. Electra, however, is having none of it. Before the argument gets too catty, the old slave shows up with what we know to be fake news: Orestes is dead. Electra is beside herself with grief, but the Queen is relieved. Queen Clytemnestra no longer has to worry about her son coming back to kill her. She takes the slave inside to celebrate. Electra grieves alone outside the palace and resolves that, now that she can't rely on her brother, she has to kill her mother herself. Before she starts sharpening her sword, Orestes shows up with his friend, Pylades. When he realizes that this bereaved woman is his sister, he reveals his true identity. Much embracing and rejoicing follows. The two of them quickly agree to avenge their father together. By "together" they mean that Orestes will go inside and stab Clytemnestra, while Electra stands outside and encourage him verbally. So they do. We know from Clytemnestra's screams that the deed is done. Orestes comes back outside, carrying Clytemnestra's body covered in a sheet. Electra is overjoyed. Just then King Aegisthus shows up, pleased as punch because he heard that Orestes is dead. (He's about five minutes behind everybody else.) Yep, says Orestes, and here's his body! It doesn't take long for Aegisthus to realize that the dead body is his wife and the man before him is Orestes. He resigns himself to his fate (being murdered by Orestes), and is ushered inside the palace as the play comes to a close.

ELECTRA THEMES THEME OF REVENGE Electra examines a "blood for blood" revenge code and asks whether this is a satisfying approach to justice. The problem, tautologically evident, is that "blood for blood" is a neverending chain. A person murders, someone murders her for vengeance, so then the new murderer must be murdered for vengeance, and so on. Is this a purely destructive kind of reasoning? Is there a better alternative? How can one turn away from vengeance if it truly is a noble and necessary duty? Electra asks these questions, but gives no concrete answers to them.

THEME OF JUSTICE AND JUDGMENT Where does the concept of "justice" originate? In duty as a citizen? In morality? In law? In the realm of the gods? What about in the duty of personal or familial allegiances? Electraaddresses these questions, and in the process, teaches us that "justice" is a tricky concept. Too often, the notion of "justice" is used as justification for a questionable action (matricide, in this specific case). If an action is considered "wrong" in some ways but "right" in others, can the action still be considered to be just?

THEME OF MORALITY AND ETHICS Whether or not Sophocles was concerned with morality when writing Electra is subject to great debate. One perspective is that the play is not interested in condemning or condoning Electra's actions, as morality is not a direct consideration. Another perspective is that Sophocles morally condones the murders that take place at the end of the play, because the royal couple deserves to be killed. Another is that Sophocles condemns the murders on the grounds that matricide is always wrong, or that murder never justifies murder. Perhaps a middle ground interpretation is that Sophocles leaves his play intentionally morally ambiguous. He is concerned with morality as a topic of debate, but does not choose one side over the other.

THEME OF DUTY Electra examines what happens when different kinds of duty come into conflict. There is duty to family members, to the gods, to the state (as demanded by law), to the dead, and to the self. Which duty should take precedence? The title character believes in an abstract duty unconditionally, even when it contradicts one's own will and all logical pragmatism. Whether or not the ending justifies the consequences of such devotion is subject to debate

THEME OF FAMILY Electra tests the bounds of conflicting family loyalty. The title character owes a duty to her dead father to avenge his murder. But, she owes her mother respect. Unfortunately, this question of loyalty is blurred because her mother is the murderer in question. To make matters worse, Electra has a duty to despise her dead sister's killer; unfortunately, that killer is her father. All sorts of drama unfold in this play as different loyalties compete with one another.

THEME OF FATE AND FREE WILL In this play, young Orestes is commanded by Apollo to murder his mother. Does this exonerate him of responsibility for his crime? Could he disobey the God if he wanted? His family seems to be under a "curse" given that murder, betrayal, and mayhem have plagued its last five generations. Does this mean such events are beyond the control of individuals? Electra explores just how much free will a person has in the fate-driven world of Greek mythology.

THEME OF BETRAYAL Familial betrayal is the name of the game in Electra. A father sacrifices his daughter to the gods, a wife kills her husband, a daughter conspires to kill her mother, and a son commits matricide. The play takes a look at "blood for blood" reasoning as the cause of a long line of one betrayal after another and questions the wisdom of such a vengeance-driven justice system.

THEME OF ISOLATION Electra demonstrates that staunch idealism is often times a lonely existence. The title character finds herself alone at the extreme end of her duty-driven idealism. On the one hand, such solitude makes her life more difficult, because she has no one to aid her in her endeavors or support her in her actions. On the other hand, Electra seems to draw strength from her solitude, stepping up to the challenge of facing her enemies alone....