Man Will Not Stop Me Analysis

Niccole
Man Will Not Stop Me: Revenge At Last! Hecuba by Euripides shows Trojan Queen, Hecuba, struggling to come to terms with those decisions of Polymestor, the King of Thrace. Through the raw emotions of anger, grief and frustration, she decides to revenge in her child’s murder. However, Hecuba must go against the social boundaries that are set for women. She creates her own “laws” by telling Agamemnon that she will seek revenge on Polymestor and actually going through with it. Yet at the same time, femininity in the eyes of men is seen as a disadvantage, but this only drives her more to do as she wants; Hecuba uses her femininity to her advantage. As Hecuba reaches heights in her mission, she faces prejudiced remarks from Polymestor
himself. Although this does not stop her, the fulfillment of her mission shows how her gender is not an obstacle for gaining justice for her son. To start with, Hecuba uses the social boundaries set for women against Polymestor. Polymestor assumes that not only is Hecuba powerless but so are all other women. The strategy she uses allows her to control, deceive, and overpower him; she is able to prove that women are strong by tricking Polymestor and getting revenge. She uses his weakness for valuables and assumptions about women to lure him alone. Once convincing him, Hecuba and Polymestor converse whether it is safe or not:
HECUBA. “They’re safe in this dwelling, packed in with the spoils.
POLYMESTOR. Where? The Achaeans’ ships are all around here.
HECUBA. The captive women have a private dwelling.
POLYMESTOR. It’s safe inside? Deserted of all men?
HECUBA. There’s no Achaean man inside—just women” (Euripides, “Hecuba” 1044-1048).
This conversation alone sets up the idea that first, Polymestor was only convinced because of the valuables and the idea that there were no other Achaean men inside the dwelling. Knowing there were no other men in the dwelling made him feel that he was more at an advantage. Secondly, this conversations shows that Hecuba has the intellectual power of deceiving men. He was thinking that there is no way women could overpower him yet this is how she tricked him. However, this is exactly what Hecuba wants; Polymestor’s viewpoint on women does not hinder her acts, it helps them. Polymestor proves that Hecuba is completely autonomous.
Likewise, once killing Polymestor’s children and blinding him, Hecuba proves that women are capable of defeating men. Although every woman does not have the courage to step outside the social boundaries, Hecuba proves that they are capable of doing so. Once Hecuba lures Polymestor into the dwelling, she serves him the justice she believes he deserves:
POLYMESTOR. “I’m blinded! Where’s the daylight? Aaah, my eyes!
CHORUS. Listen, friends—the Thracian gentleman’s wailing.
POLYMESTOR. Aaah, my children! Alas, your cruel slaughter!
…
HECUBA. …Your eyes have lost their brightness now—for good!
You’ll never see your sons alive: I killed them!
CHORUS. What? Have you subdued our Thracian guest, and gained the upper hand, just as you say?” (Euripides, Hecuba 1068-1081).

Hecuba changes the power dynamic by physically proving that her femininity is not a disadvantage, just as she proved intellectually by tricking him. In fact, the Chorus themselves are shocked that she gains the upper hand, making him look as if he were just a slave too! Disregarding Agamemnon’s earlier comment “And how will women overpower men?” (Euripides, Hecuba 914), she proves him wrong as if the constraints against women were the only obstacle they faced. Hecuba deceives, convinces, overpowers, and restores justice from Polymestor all in the matter of minutes. She has done a job that no man would think a woman could do. This action of Hecuba shows how she defied expected social norms and what women were thought to be capable of. In addition to this, Hecuba is filled with satisfaction by seeing Polymestor at his weakest point because of her. The thought of hearing Hecuba and knowing that she truly has defeated him drives Polymestor into a rage, and he wants to now kill her with his bare hands. Yet Agamemnon will not let him do so because he wants to hear the sides and the reasons that Polymestor has suffered. After hearing the arguments he realizes that Polymestor is saying whatever will get him on his side. However, Hecuba destroys his argument point by point only making her revenge seem more reasonable. Agamemnon sees the same lies that Polymestor fed to Hecuba about her son. Now seeing that no one will believe him and take his side, he worries that what Hecuba did not only take away his dignity and honor but has made him ashamed because she is a woman:
POLYMESTOR. “Defeated by a woman—a slave! I’m brought to justice by those worse than me, it seems.
HECUBA. Justice, yes. Are you not in the wrong?
POLYMESTOR. Alas, my sons. Alas, my eyes. Poor me.
HECUBA. What, does it hurt? Do you think I don’t grieve?
POLYMESTOR. You delight in this atrocity, you fiend…
HECUBA. Shouldn’t I delight in taking vengeance?” (Euripides Hecuba 1312-1318).
Despite the fact that a woman has defeated him he also thinks that Hecuba is getting joy out of seeing him abused. However, Hecuba explains to him that it is only right for what he has done. The anger, grief, and frustration that he has inflicted on her life, she has done the same to him. In their society revenge is a common leverage for justice. Polymestor wishes on her that she will become “a dog with blazing eyes” and she be buried where her tomb reads “Poor Bitch’s Grave” because she is so cruel towards him. This in fact does not seem to bother Hecuba; instead she responds, “I don’t even care, now that you’ve come to justice” (Euripides Hecuba 1134). In spite of being compared to a dog, Hecuba’s shows no remorse, no mercy, and no sympathy towards him. All she wanted was revenge and that is what she got. She wants him to suffer, to feel the pain, to know the feeling of losing—of being defeated, defeated by a woman—her. This action of Hecuba shows how she is autonomous because she has her own idea of justice including her values and morals.
In conclusion, being a woman did not hinder Hecuba’s overall success in restoring justice for her son.
Using the boundaries set for woman, Hecuba shows that women are in fact capable of defeating men. Although at one point Polymestor thinks that he is in control, Hecuba is always one step in front of him. When Polymestor thinks that she is his least worry it actually allows for him to be more at a disadvantage. Although it seems Hecuba has achieved everything she wanted, her revenge for justice will never replace son or restore her happiness. Today in modern society we tend to associate revenge with no true happy ending. Even though Hecuba proved that women could be powerful, she really didn 't do anything to advance the status of women in modern terms, because we look down upon revenge. The revenge Hecuba committed, today in our society, is equal to first-degree murder. We as Americans have learned through our justice system that revenge can never fully restore happiness, and the same is seen throughout Hecuba. In the end the winds that will send them home pick up and cause us to question whether this is what the gods want or not. All in all, Hecuba has lost, Polymestor has lost, Agamemnon will lose, and not one person has walked away with restored
happiness.

Works Cited
Euripides. Andromache, Hecuba, Trojan Women. Trans, Svarlien Diane Arnson. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub., 2012. Print.