We can surely illustrate Dionysus’s appearance in two words; “feminine” and “soft”, in which maybe makes the result of behaving women, more clear for us in this way. As he’s been described by the author as “His long blond curls ripple down over his shoulders…” which gives us more, the impression of female characteristics rather than a male God. Although he wears a smiling mask throughout the play, which makes him even softer in front of his people. In return he says; “Here is Thebes, I bound the fawn skin to the women’s …” that proves us that he’s trying to delineate women as “his women”. Still as we go along the story, we become aware of women being strong and brave, that they do the sacrificing themselves, which isn’t really normal.
The two other characters who play along with Dionysus, the two senior citizens of Thebes, Cadmus and Teiresias, however seem to be more problematic in this chapter, as they’re one of the strict believers of Dionysus and spend much of their time defending him against Pentheus and are set in contrast with him. The two old and blind men in fawn skin are still able to run the country, as the age and kingship are the two gold keys for being in control in ancient Greek.
For they are, we soon discover, being exited by keep questioning themselves and is to put confident in each other as Teiresias mentions;” They are all blind. Only we can see.” which gives us an impression that what they’re trying to do, is to make themselves more at the centre of this extreme believe of Dionysus, as they’re trying to convince both us and themselves that they’re possessed.
However we are aware of their oldness, for it is in their persons and through their words that they want to be seen as youths in their outer shells;” I could dance night and day, how sweet it is to forget my age.” which is to make us realise that they can still cop but with a bit of fear, moreover they found dancing, singing and getting drunk, the answers to this fear. As they’re trying to emphasise their old age, yet it’s been shown to us a lot in their conversation to each other by saying; “I shall lead, my old age…” That gives us an idea about their attitude to their age.
The use of irony of course, has been used when Teiresias, affecting the role of loyalty traditionalist, as he uses the phrase;” Did the Gods deduce that…?”This shows his strong religious bond to Dionysus. Moreover he also lectures Pentheus on the nature of Dionysus with the utter possessed madness of him, as he portray Pentheus “A worthless and stupid citizen” and advice him as” this god whom you ridicule shall someday…”which clearly shows his extreme sign of being religious to Dionysus. However we are informed that he is Pentheus’s grandfather, but it doesn’t make him any less betrayal to Dionysus rules by supporting him, as “Do you, at that story that Dionysus was sewed into the thigh of Zeus? Let me teach you what that really means...” Which brings up a point about how possessed he became and how he’s trying to play a trick to persuade him and the audience by describing more about Dionysus, and using a word “teach” that gives us an impression of Pentheus learning and make a believe in us that Dionysus is worth praying!
It deserves to mention also, the fact, that they’re trying to make Gods out of themselves, which’s been taken by the words; “I’m just a man .I do not scoff at heaven” that shows them making a balance of themselves; however they’re old and blind but they still try to make a God image out of them.
Pentheus in other hand has been characterised as a narrow-minded person, who chose the way to concentrate on his job to satisfy his people, in the competition with Dionysus’s way who just keep his hair down in this contest of battle of him and Pentheus. Pentheus has a great role in this scene, as he seems to act like a stone in Dionysus way. His way of thinking is to convince people of Dionysus not being a god, as he says;” whoever this stranger is, aren’t such impostures, such unruliness, worthy of hanging?” which makes us believe he thinks he can put Dionysus’s power down by propaganda. He is in fact a deeply unreasonable man, intemperate in anger and utterly convinced by reasonable evidence as he use a phrase;” Get your hands off me! Go worship your…” which makes the fact lights up that he tries to blame other people when it comes to the truth or real evidence, which is the way to promote himself in front of his audience.
To consider Pentheus, he is also represented as a violent stubborn, arbitrary, immoderate and impatient of tradition and costume, as we have “By God, I’ll have his head cut off” he says, which shows that Dionysus’s rule made him so jealous that he wants to take revenge. At the time, he is shown in order to be presented for what he is; such as an ignorant of himself and his nature. Ever much his conduct may outrage sympathy, his youth and utter human helplessness before the awful shape of his necessity is addressed directly to reader’s understandably and compassion.
Pentheus is a lonely arrogance of the exceptional individual figure. A figure which under dramatic responsibilities and believes turn out to be sacrificed in Dionysus’s hand. He is a man with selfish and impatient of tradition in action.” My mother…in no time I shall have trapped in iron nets and stop this absence disorder.” This clearly shows us his stubbornness and being selfish. Yet we see in his costume and madness not merely his humiliation, but the total loss of identity.
To put Euripides in perspective, dramatically, the main body of the play is a skilfully constructed confrontation between the two major protagonists; Pentheus and Dionysus. The distinguish of heavy-handed and angry man “Pentheus” against the smiling soft spoken and humanized shaped God “Dionysus”. However Pentheus plays his rule by being deeply jealous of Dionysus, and ruthless in enmity; he is intolerant of opposition in his will. The God of course is ambiguous and raw power that shows his tradition through the dramatic demonstration, that represent him not devilish, but a careless power and the reality of awful.
Dramatically the core of the play is a war of words and disagreement between the two characters: Pentheus and Dionysus. The distinguish of violent and narrow-minded man” Pentheus”against the smiling and ambiguous god” Dionysus”.
