Idols In Christa Wolf's Cassandra

In the novel Cassandra by Christa wolf, we are told the story of Cassandra before she is murdered by Clytemnestra after she got captured and enslaved after the fall of Troy. Being already regarded as an outsider, Cassandra begin to isolate herself from her own family as we move through the novel and also cuts herself off from the society she lives in through the idols that the Trojans dearly believe in. These idols served as a way to take hold of the Trojans and make them believe in something thus, giving them all a purpose in life. As the belief grows stronger, more idols such as “Helen and the Trajan horse” also beginning to surface to give the people a purpose which is like believing in deception, made up idols in order to empower individuals
to keep living. In order to create and manufacture a prominent faith, the necessity of untrue idols begin to increase to the point that Priam, Cassandra’s father whom she loved to sit with especially when he was discussing his political affairs and issues of the state, is to be referred to as “almighty”. Due to this need of relying upon lies to give the people a sense of purpose as the novel progresses, Cassandra begins to feel more and more of an outsider and continues to isolate herself from all. During the beginning of the novel, the author Christa Wolf depicts Cassandra as a foil who in the beginning, strongly believe in the idols presented just like any and every other Trojan individuals. However, just like every good things must come to an end, Cassandra began to question these idols and then slowly started realizing the real truth hiding behind these idols which is to basically exert control over the people, so she decides conserve and isolate herself from her family and society thus, creating a rising conflict between the Trojans society, her family and herself. Brainwashed and closed-minded as they were, they constantly kept pushing Cassandra away as an outsider due to her unique and different opinions which resulted in her being called out as mad. Aware of the nonexistence the idol Helen, which has a huge hold over all of Troy as it is the cause of the war between the Greeks and the Trojan, Cassandra all torn up about this false reason to go to war, begin to argue and creates conflict by constantly fighting with her father Priam.
The more she kept arguing and fighting about revealing what Helen truly is, what it serves for and the true story behind it, the more they drove apart from each other. All due to her disbelief and her desired inability to conform to the false idols, she is perceived as mad and the Trojans even stated that “she’s crazy, that one”. Moving on throughout the novel, the author begins to outline the irony in Cassandra being labeled as mad when in fact, she is the most clairvoyant of all since she was cursed by Apollo with the gift to prophesy. Therefore, despise all, Cassandra still remains the mad women who can see things that the rest can’t seem to see; the truth. In conclusion, the novel Cassandra by Christa Wolf is focused and centered on the idea of even false idols serving their purpose which is to give people the strength and faith to pursue a specific as well as common goal. Furthermore, the irony presented in this novel highlights the idea that although Cassandra has less tolerance and is less acceptant of the false idols thus making her a mad woman in the eyes of everyone else, she still remains the one and only ready to accept and welcome the
truth.