Sartre's groundbreaking play, The Flies, describes the emotional and mental evolution of young Orestes, set against the ancient Greek myth of Electra and Orestes. Although The Flies is considered a tragedy, because of Orestes' moral goodness, and his suffering process, the emphasis of the play is upon Orestes' quest for identity, as opposed to the consequences of the search (as in Macbeth or Julius Caesar).[1]
Orestes undergoes three main phases in his search for being: identifying what he is, freeing himself from the gods, and fulfilling what he is. The first stage begins in the first act when Orestes searches for what is his. Repeatedly, Orestes states that he has nothing to call his own. After he talks with Zeus, Orestes states that he has no memories. He says, "Why, an old, mangy dog, warming himself at the hearth, and struggling to his feet with a little whimper to welcome his master home-why, that dog has more memories than I! At least he recognizes his master. His master. But what can I call mine?" Orestes obviously needs to be his own person. Up until Act Two, Orestes has an uncommitted form of freedom. He is free, because he has no responsibilities, because he knows that to take action is to risk losing his freedom.[2] He needs something to call his own, even if he has to suffer for it. Later in the play, he does suffer for what he has chosen to call his own. In the eyes of an existentialist, however, it is better for him to choose (freedom) and suffer (absurdity) than for him not to choose, and simply follow what the gods ordain.[3] This idea is reflected in Camus' essay on Sisyphus, in which Sisyphus chooses his fate of continually pushing a rock up a hill in Hades, only to have the rock fall down again.
Orestes thinks that he is free. In his conversation with his tutor in the first act, Orestes says: "I am free as air, thank God. My mind's my own, gloriously aloof." However, Orestes is not truly free yet. He has not escaped the shackles of doing what the gods (especially Zeus) ordain, as he has not yet defied the gods. He the proceeds to "talk sense," as his tutor puts it, by declaring that none of his rightful belongings are truly his, as he has not grown up with them. But Orestes admits that to live in Argos, he would be repentant, and it would be his repentance (the idea of absurdity). The tutor tells Orestes that he was afraid that Orestes would attempt to regain his heritage, but Orestes puts these fears to ease. Orestes does not want to free the city, because the problems of the city are not his, and freeing the city would only be right for Others. Orestes goes one step further, though, by saying, "But, mind you, if there was something I could do, something to give me the freedom of the city; if, even by a crime, I could acquire their memories, their hopes and fears, and fill with these the void within me, yes, even if I had to kill my own mother-" Orestes seems to contradict himself, but he doesn't. He realizes that to do what is right for himself, he may have to do what is right for Others. Further, Orestes understands that he doesn't want to free the city for the sake of being nice and doing the "right thing," but, rather, he would do so for his own gain (a sense of belonging).[4] In this is contained the absurdity which is so central to Sartre's brand of existentialism.[5]
Near the end of Act One, Sartre introduces the character of Electra. Electra acts as a foil for Orestes. Her passionate acting against Zeus in the beginning of the play never truly turns into action (indeed, she succumbs to his temptation at the end), whereas Orestes' speeches against Zeus soon turn to action.[6] At the end of Act One, Orestes seems to have decided to take some sort of interested in the people of Argos, if not for anything less than Electra's sake.
In Act Two, we witness a complete change in Orestes/Philebus. The character of Philebus (the weak, mild young man) and is replaced by the Orestes of Electra's dreams, Orestes The Avenger.[7] In Act One, Electra states that her dream Orestes is powerful and vengeful. She states, "I picture him as a big, strong man, a born fighter, with bloodshot eyes like our father's, always smoldering with rage." Orestes asks Zeus for guidance (the first true sign that he isn't sure what he should do, and that he no longer feels sure of himself).[8] Zeus, (still in the guise of a traveler) hears the request, surrounds a stone with a brilliant light. Electra is overjoyed, because she (rightfully so) interprets this to mean that Orestes shall leave. Orestes becomes melancholic, and declares, "So that is the Good. Be submissive, very still. Always say ‘Excuse me,' and ‘Thank you.' That's what's wanted. The Good. Their Good." Orestes then decides to stay in Argos and exact revenge. Orestes has come to the point of "radical conversion" (as Sartre describes in Being and Nothingness).[9] Orestes has finally become the Avenger that Electra was convinced she desired. Electra, however, falls behind. She becomes scared, for two reasons. Chiefly, she had never dared to make her bold talk become true, and she has never been truly free from the powers of the gods. Despite her talk, she is afraid to act, and suffer.[10] The second reason, is that she understands that if the objects of her hatred, Ægisthus and Clytemnestra were to ever be gone, the focus of her live would be gone as well, and she would be empty. Unlike Orestes, she has something that is truly hers. Her hate.[11]
Orestes then spends the remainder of the tragedy defying Zeus. For every sign that Orestes is given, Orestes acts contrary to Zeus' wishes. First, Orestes kills Ægisthus and Clytemnestra to defy Zeus (as well as fulfilling his search for redemption). This crime is the highest form of crime, regicide. Other characters made their decision to commit regicide solemnly, such as Macbeth, but not Orestes. Orestes sees his crime as a source of salvation. Orestes wallows in his crime, referring to it as a "precious load." Even in Act Three, at the verge of his destruction (caused by his crime), Orestes is proud of his crime. When Orestes talks of his crime with phrases like, "it weighs on my heart like lead," we see that Orestes sees his crime as a tangible object.[12]
Orestes' next act in defying Zeus occurs in Act Three, when Zeus offers Electra and Orestes the throne. Electra, acting once again as a foil for Orestes, gladly takes Zeus up on his offer. Orestes still believes that he and Electra planned the crime together, and that they share the responsibility. The following passage between Orestes and Electra shows just how different Electra and Orestes are, in that her refusal to act upon her dreams are her salvation, whereas his action is his salvation:
ORESTES: She wants to part us, she is building up a wall of solitude around you. But beware; once you are alone, alone and helpless, they will fling themselves upon you. Electra, we planned this crime together and we should bear its brunt together.
ELECTRA: You dare to say I planned it with you?
ORESTES: Can you deny it?
ELECTRA: Of course I deny it. Wait! Well, perhaps-in way.... Oh, I don't know. I dreamt the crime, but carried it out, you murdered your own mother.
Electra proves herself to be truly afraid of Zeus (in contrast to her "rebellion" against him in the first act) when, soon after this dialog, she accepts Zeus' offer and joins the citizens in their remorse.[13]
Orestes completes his rejection of the gods in the final moments of the drama. Zeus, who has admitted to being powerless over Man, except through Man's fear of him, has left. Electra, also has left Orestes to his fate. Ironically, the Furies state that Orestes will "suffer for two," since Electra has been granted asylum by Zeus. Orestes gladly accepts his punishment, and walks away from the shrine with the Furies following him. Orestes has become the savior of the city, since the Furies have left the city to torment him. Orestes has not become the tool of Zeus, and has undone much of Zeus' work by killing Ægisthus and Clytemnestra (Zeus' willing servants). Orestes is proud, and has lived what he stated earlier in Act Three: "The most cowardly of murders is he who feels remorse." Orestes has his crime and his suffering, and is finally happy.[14]
Detmer, David. Freedom as a Value: A Critique of the Ethical Theory of Jean-Paul Sartre. LaSalle: Open Court, 1986.
Dreyfus, Hubert. "Existentialism." Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. 1996 ed.
Gassner, John, ed. A Treasury of the Theatre. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1967.
Gerassi, John. Jean-Paul Sartre: Hated Concience of His Century. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989.
Kern, Edith. Existential Thought and Fictional Technique: Kierkegaard, Sartre, Beckett. London: Yale University Press, 1970.
McCall, Dorothy. The Theatre of Jean-Paul Sarte. New York: Columbia University Press, 1969.
Pollmann, Leo. Sartre & Camus. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1967.
[1] McCall, Dorothy, The Theatre of Jean-Paul Sartre, (New York: Columbia University Press), p. 9
[2] Ibid. p. 9
[3] Dreyfus, Hubert, "Existentialism", Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, 1996 ed.
[4] McCall, Dorothy, The Theatre of Jean-Paul Sartre, (New York: Columbia University Press), p. 9
[5] Dreyfus, Hubert, "Existentialism", Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, 1996 ed.
[6] McCall, Dorothy, The Theatre of Jean-Paul Sartre, (New York: Columbia University Press), p. 18
[7] Ibid. p. 11
[8] Pollmann, Leo, Sartre and Camus: Literature of Existence, (New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co.), p. 47
[9] McCall, Dorothy, The Theatre of Jean-Paul Sartre, (New York: Columbia University Press), p. 12
[10] Pollmann, Leo, Sartre and Camus: Literature of Existence, (New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co.), p. 48
[11] McCall, Dorothy, The Theatre of Jean-Paul Sartre, (New York: Columbia University Press), p. 18
[12] Ibid., p. 14
[13] Ibid., p. 20
[14] Pollmann, Leo, Sartre and Camus: Literature of Existence, (New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co.), p. 50
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