How we cite our quotes: Line
Quote #1
Calonice: "And what if they grab us and drag us into the bedroom by force?"
Lysistrata: "Hold onto the door."
Calonice: "And what if they beat us?"
Lysistrata: "Then submit, but disagreeably: men get no pleasure in sex when they have to force you. And make them suffer in other ways as well. Don't worry, they'll soon give in. No husband can have a happy life if his wife doesn't want him to." (160-166)
In these lines, Calonice worries that the women simply won't have enough power to keep up their sex-strike. If the women's husbands are, on average, more physically powerful, what will be stopping them from turning to rape? Lysistrata still thinks they have some power to resist, through passive resistance. By making it abundantly clear that they don't want to get it on with their husbands, Lysistrata suggests that they can still make their husbands lives' miserable. Her point seems to be that the husbands don't really want their relationships to be based on power; they want their wives to want to have sex with them.
Quote #2
Calonice: "Well, if the two of you agree to this, then we agree too."
Lampito: "And we will convince our menfolk to keep a completely fair and honest peace. But how can anyone keep your Athenian rabble from acting like lunatics?"
Lysistrata: "Don't worry, we'll handle the persuasion on our side."
Lampito: "Not so, as long as your battleships are under canvas and your Goddess' temple has a bottomless fund of money."
Lysistrata: "No, that's also been well provided for: we're going to occupy the Acropolis this very day. The older women are assigned that part: while we're working out our agreement down here, they'll occupy the Acropolis, pretending to be up there for a sacrifice." (167-179)
Lampito's objections here show that she understands the role power plays in politics. Sure, she seems to be saying, it's all well and good if the women get their men to sign a peace treaty—but how can they trust that the Athenians will keep holding up their end of the bargain if they still have the financial power to wage war? Lysistrata shows that she, too, understands the role of power. She has had the foresight to send the Athenian women to take over the Acropolis; by seizing control of the money supply, the women can cut off the Athenian men's source of financial power. Looks like the women of Greece have grabbed their men by the, uh, well, you get the picture.
Quote #3
Magistrate: "Really, you witch! Where's a policeman?" (to First Policeman) "Grab her and tie both hands behind her back."
Lysistrata: "If he so much as touches me with his fingertip, mere public servant that he is, so help me Artemis he'll go home crying!"
These lines by Lysistrata show how complicated the issues of power are in this play—and how it isn't all that easy for modern readers to see Lysistrata as all about support for the downtrodden. On the one hand, Lysistrata shows her own personal willpower by refusing to be frightened by the Magistrate's threats. On the other hand, look at the language she uses to express her willpower: she says that the policeman is going to get it because he is nothing more than a "mere public servant." This shows that Lysistrata still thinks in terms of class divisions. Sure, Lysistrata is campaigning for women to have a voice, but she certainly isn't campaigning for servants (public or otherwise) to have any more power than they do already.