her. We can not blame Deianeira for wanting to feel safe and loved as her life as a
young girl was filled with fear and anxiety and it is only the presence of Heracles that
can solve this. In many Greek tragedies woman’s fate hangs entirely on man, and the
chorus’ speech of Deianeira’s suffering mirrors that of Tecmessa’s sorrow.
Consequently it is only reasonable that a woman should do all she can to keep hold of
her man and thus her security and peace of mind. So much depends upon
Heracles, Deianeira goes as far as saying “If he lives, we live; and if he dies, we die.”
When we view her actions from this angle we can see it was an act of innocence.
Deianeira is overjoyed at the news that her husband is alive and well and on his way
home to her, particularly after the oracles daunting predicament of this day being
“either his last on earth, or else the beginning of peaceful days for the rest of his
mortal life”, it seems to Deianeira that it is thankfully the latter. Lichas, the herald,
explains the plight of Heracles to Deianeira and avoids all questioning of the
beautiful, mystery slave girl that Deianeira shows much interest in. It is ironic that she
feels the most sympathy to the very woman who is the core of the chaos and
conundrum brought about. No sooner after Lichas leaves Deianeira we learn that his
story had been a fabrication. It is the messenger who remains loyal to his Queen and
Speaks the truth. It is uncertain whether Lichas was right to withhold information from
Deianeira or if the messenger was right to reveal the true story. It is feasible that by
wanting to keep Deianeira in the dark Lichas has infuriated her deeper and the
situation has hence been worsened when the truth is revealed, or that the messenger
has released a whole chain of unfortunate events through his honesty. Even so if
Deianeira had not been enlightened on the matter there is no doubt that by some other
means or through her intuition she would have eventually found out Lichas’ tale was a
lie and still be prompted into her ill-fated actions. Subsequently both Lichas and the
messenger were not wrong in their actions, but were acting out what they saw as the
best way to assist and protect Deianeira.
Heracles attack on Eurytus was not out of revenge, but instead out of the desire to
possess the king's daughter, Iole. Considering the manner in which Clytemnestra
reacted to her husband's immanent return con concubine, Deianira seems to be taking
it pretty well:
“Do you think I do not know that the heart of man can change in its affections…It
would be madness to blame my husband for this infection.”
This speech of people changing mirrors that of Ajax’s in which he meant the exact
opposite. Deianeira is performing exactly the same act of falsehood as Lichas
undertook and she herself condemns;
“The name of liar is a brand of infamy.”
Her hypocritical mannerism results in Lichas believing all is well and that she is fine
with the situation meaning that he has no doubts or is suspicious of the gift she passes
on through him to Heracles. Her deceptive speech was merely a trick to get the truth
from Lichas. She has become no better than him in lying, yet she has lied out of
security. Much of this tragedy contains deception and trickery leading to misfortune.
It is true that she was wrong to lie as was Lichas. Honesty in this case really is the
best policy, and most of the characters lie, delude or are unfaithful to others
throughout the whole play resulting in the tragedy.
Deianeira finds Heracles’ eros towards Iole devastating and difficult to take due to
her own inner physiology and vulnerability. Heracles, although taking Deianeira as his
wife, and saving her from Achelous does not fully realise her insecurities and is never
there to support her and fully give her the feeling of security. This is not completely
his own fault as he has his duties as a hero to fulfil elsewhere, yet in this case his
absence and situation could have been avoided. He does not show understanding to
his wife as he callously takes the beautiful Iole as his prize of war. Such lengths he
went through to capture the girl make Deianeira suspicious and lead her to act in the
rash way she does. It is the destructive force of eros that also lend a helping hand to
the chaos of this tragedy. Heracles was wrong to subject his wife to further dread of
losing him for another woman when he was aware of her fearsome earlier life. He did
not even consider the effect it may have upon her. He results in his own downfall.
Even so, Heracles cannot hold back such strong feelings of passion and love and it
was more than accepted for a hero to take for himself a prize woman from different
battles fought , so can we really blame him for taking Iole captive, resulting in the
jealous actions of his wife?
In her desperate situation and need for security Deianeira, in a state of panic, decides
to revert to magic. Here the audience feels more sympathy for her case as we learn
she has not been raped once, but twice by a never before mentioned centaur. The
sympathy gained for Deianeira and the more we understand the physiology of her
character the less guilty she becomes. It is not a case of being right, but a case of
being innocent and not knowing that your actions could be the wrong ones.
The audience is now even more inclined to see Heracles’failure to continuously
protect his wife as we now learn he was the saviour of her virginity, protecting her
from the monstrous world of mythical figures. Deianeira states herself that she does
not wish to feel bitter towards her husband; “a woman must have more sense than to
cherish anger”. All she wishes is good will, peace and love, and she believes the
clotted blood of Nessus can gain her this as the centaur had stated it was a "charm for
the mind of Heracles, so that he shall never more see and love another woman, instead
of you."
Her scheme to win her husbands love back is born out of weakness and innocent
belief in Nessus’ gift.
It is only after Lichas has delivered the cloak with the smeared blood of Nessus on it
that Deianeira begins to question if the vile centaur spoke the truth. The circle of
deception has spun back around to her. And the liar is caught out by a lie. Deianeira
is too late to act upon hr realisation that the centaur only intended revenge and now
she will have to live with the thought that she brought about her husbands death. It is
her fault also that Lichas dies through Heracles’ rage.
Hyllus is wrong to blame her so promptly without knowing the whole story. It is her
own son who brings about her death as she cannot live with his accusations. He, like
his mother acted with rashness. It is Heracles also, who jumps to conclusions. When
Hyllus intends to purely speak the truth of his mother, Heracles is quick to call him a
traitor. Eventually, he is alerted to his own misjudgement and understands the
mistake. In retrospection he can see that the oracle was right.
It is only at the end of their lives that the characters reflect upon their behaviour and
can see the light. Only then it is too late. There is no character that is chiefly wrong
or right in “The women of Trachis”. It is the result of misunderstandings, innocence,
ignorance, and deception on many peoples part that led to the regrettable outcome.
Perhaps the one most to blame is Nessus, who was the only one that intended harm.
He knew very well what he was doing, whereas the others that were wrong in their
acts could not see their outcomes. There is no tragedy in terrible things happening to
the guilty, but in the innocent, and although most of the characters were wrong in
their actions, they innocently thought they were doing good.