Page 18 - GALIET EURIPIDES´MACARIA´S GIFTS: The Angel IV

Galiet & Galiet
Certainly, she brings to mind Ajax’s dictum “to nobly live or to nobly die” when she has discovered that the finest thing is not to cling to life but to “die in glorious fashion” (534). Life, to be lived shamefully, is not worth living. To half exist, is not to exist.
Though Macaria is strong, she also needs company at the time of death. She wants to die in Iolaus arms (561). Because he cannot bear to see her die, Demophon responds to her last wishes of having women, not men, holding her on her dying hour. Note that she does not ask Alcmene or her sisters to be present. This might be not only be too traumatizing, but also shows her greater affinity with the masculine rather than the feminine sphere. Yet, when her words are to become deeds, her farewell is filled with almost maternal concerns for others: she pleas to Iolaus to teach her siblings common sense, to protect them. She also pleas to her brothers: to find the happiness she will not have, to respect Iolaus and Alcmene, to honour Athenians and to give her the finest burial in gratitude and memory for her self-sacrifice. This request also asserts her masculine side; it resonates with many of the heroes yearning, in particular, Hector’s yearning for glory and proper burial in the Iliad. Likewise, Macaria prefers the belief of non-existence in Hades. To go to Hades would imply facing toil or cares, for her death is the end of suffering (596-597). Macaria’s strength, calm and resignation at the time of departure, in her speech, leaves the audience experiencing awe and sadness, joy and misery, calm and anger: anger at the circumstances, at the loss of innocent life. The audience does not see the sacrifice. There is no more mention of her.
Macaria’s world is infused with nobility. Her words and actions stand miles away from other Euripidean female characters. In Medea, we find a disturbing perspective on womanhood: “we were born women 3⁄4 useless for all honest purposes, but in all kinds of evil skilled practitioners” (Eur. Medea 407-409). However, Macaria’s life, though toiled and suffered, wretched and anguished, is
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