How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
(Apollo): "And now you see these rabid creatures overtaken (gesturing towards the closed door): they have fallen into sleep, abominations that they are, maidens in old age, ancient children, whom no god mixes with, nor man, nor beast, ever. It was for evil's sake that they even came into being, since their sphere is the evil dark of Tartarus under the earth; and they are objects of hate to men and the Olympian gods—but make your escape from them nevertheless, and do not soften! For they will drive you throughout all the long mainland as your steps take you constantly wandering the earth beyond the ocean and the cities round which it flows." (67-77)
In Libation Bearers (the prequel to The Eumenides) some people think that the Furies should just be interpreted as figments of Orestes's troubled imagination, not as actually existing deities. Do you think the same interpretation is possible in The Eumenides? If so, how would these words from Apollo factor into your interpretation?
Quote #2
(Apollo): "The fact is, I did persuade you to kill your own mother! Remember that; do not let fear overcome your mind." (84, 88; in some editions and translations of the play, these two lines are separated by Orestes's words at 85-87; in the Collard translation we use, however, they're brought together.)
Why do you think Apollo gives Orestes this warning at this point? Doesn't it seem as if he is telling him not to let the issue of the Furies get to him too much, so that he doesn't lose his mind? If so, this would point to the difference between the theme of "Justice and Judgment" and that of "Guilt and Blame."
Justice and Judgment has to do with whether somebody is found guilty in a court of law; but you can still feel guilty and blame yourself even if you have been acquitted in a court of law. Apollo's warning has to do with feelings of guilt and blame Orestes might harbor toward himself.
Quote #3
(Chorus of Furies): "I myself get abuse, which came in dreams
and struck like a chariot-driver
with his goad held in the middle,
deep to my heart, deep to my core.
I can feel the scourging,
brutal as a public hangman's,
cruel, so very cruel, a frozen agony to have." (155-161)
Irony of ironies: the Furies, the spirits who are hounding Orestes and trying to drive him mad with guilt feel guilty because they haven't succeeded in catching him. How might this insight into the Furies' emotions relate to the question of whether they really exist or not?