Electra Complex (PART 2 OF 4)
Keep up the good work, kiddo,
Yes, yes, yes, ... I'd like to write an intersting and thought-provoking article.
Your notes always give me a great deal of inspiration, Diane.
Thanks a lot.
Get a healthy suntan!
Have a nice day!
Ciao with a lot of love.
Your truly skinny Socrates,
Kato
Kato...talking about your Japanese proverb...
Oh...my Japanese proverb?
Yes...you translated it into the following:
あばたもえくぼ（痘痕も靨）
The scar on her cheek
turns into a dimple
for the eye of a man in love.
That's right...what about it?...anything wrong?
No, nothing's wrong...but there is a well-known English proverb for that.
Tell me, Diane.
They say, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
Oh, yeah..., oh, yes...I've heard of that.
You see, Kato, the experience of "beauty" often involves the interpretation of some entity as being in balance and harmony with nature, which may lead to feelings of attraction and emotional well-being.
I see...Diane, you're becoming philosophical, aren't you? :)
Well...maybe so...'Cause this is a subjective experience, it is often said that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." In its most profound sense, beauty may engender a salient experience of positive reflection about the meaning of one's own existence. A subject of beauty is anything that resonates with personal meaning.
I see...Diane, you sound like a Greek philosopher. He, he, he, he, he...
Kato, don't be silly!...it's kinda common sense, isn't it?
Well...but, English isn't my mother tongue. Even though I've heard of your English proverb, it doesn't come to my mind naturally. If I translate the Japanese proverb word by word, it would be like this:
あばたもえくぼ（痘痕も靨）
scar = dimple
This is saying something like cat = dog, which doesn't make sense to anybody, I suppose. Therefore, I translated it into the following so that everybody could understand easily:
The scar on her cheek
turns into a dimple
for the eye of a man in love.
Yes, I know that, Kato. I've simply told you that we, the English-speakers, have an equivalent proverb for the above Japanese saying. By the way, how come you come up with "Electra" for today's article?
Diane, do you know about Electra?
Yes, of course, I know.
Electra
In Greek mythology, Electra (Greek: Ἠλέκτρα, Ēlektra) was an Argive princess and daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra.
She and her brother Orestes plotted revenge against their mother Clytemnestra and stepfather Aegisthus for the murder of their father, Agamemnon.
Electra is the main character in the Greek tragedies Electra by Sophocles and Electra by Euripides and has inspired various other works.
The psychological concept of the Electra complex is also named after her.
Electra's parents were King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra.
Her sisters were Iphigeneia and Chrysothemis, and her brother Orestes.
In the Iliad, Homer is understood to be referring to Electra in mentioning "Laodice" as a daughter of Agamemnon.
The daughter of Agamemnon should not be confused with her namesake the sea-nymph Electra, the mother of the lesser goddess Iris by the Sea-Titan Thaumas.
The Murder of Agamemnon
Electra was absent from Mycenae when her father, King Agamemnon, returned from the Trojan War to be murdered by Aegisthus, Clytemnestra's lover, and/or by Clytemnestra herself.
Clytemnestra had held a grudge against her husband Agamemnon for murdering their eldest daughter Iphigenia as sacrifice to Artemis or Athena (disputed).
Aegisthus and Clytemnestra also killed Cassandra, Agamemnon's war prize, a prophet priestess of Troy.
Eight years later Electra was brought from Athens with her brother, Orestes.
According to Pindar, Orestes was saved by his old nurse or by Electra, and was taken to Phanote on Mount Parnassus, where King Strophius took charge of him.
In his twentieth year, Orestes was ordered by the Delphic oracle to return home and avenge his father's death.
The Murder of Clytemnestra
According to Aeschylus, Orestes saw Electra's face before the tomb of Agamemnon, where both had gone to perform rites to the dead; a recognition took place, and they arranged how Orestes should accomplish his revenge.
Pylades and Orestes killed Clytemnestra and Aegisthus (in some accounts with Electra helping).
Orestes revealed
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Aegisthus killed
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Before her death, Clytemnestra curses Orestes and the Furies come to torment him.
He was pursued by the Erinyes, or Furies, whose duty it is to punish any violation of the ties of family piety.
Electra, however, was not hounded by the Erinyes.
Orestes took refuge in the temple at Delphi.
When he went to the temple it is said a priestess found him first, covered in blood and with the furies flying all around him (Orestes).
Afterward, they washed him with pig blood to purify him.
Once purified he traveled to Athens to seek Athena.
At last Athena (also known as Areia) received him on the Acropolis of Athens and arranged a formal trial of the case before twelve Attic judges.
The Erinyes demanded their victim; he pleaded the orders of Apollo; the votes of the judges were equally divided, and Athena gave her casting vote for acquittal.
In Iphigeneia in Tauris, Euripides tells the tale somewhat differently.
He claims that Orestes was led by the Furies to Tauris on the Black Sea, where his sister Iphigeneia was being held.
The two met when Orestes and Pylades were brought to Iphigeneia to be prepared for sacrifice to Artemis.
Iphigeneia, Orestes, and Pylades escaped from Tauris.
The Furies, appeased by the reunion of the family, abated their persecution.
Electra and Orestes
SOURCE:
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
PICTURES:
From the Denman Library
The Greek mythology or the Iliad is to the English speakers what the Tale of Ganji is to the Japanese speakers.
I see.
But, Kato, how come you bring up "Electra"?
Well..., the Electra complex.
What about it?
You see, in the ancient Greece, the Electra complex is deeply enbedded in the tragedy. But in Japan, the Electra complex is much more romantic.
Oh...? Whay is that?
The world-famous Japanese movie director, Yasujiro Ozu, filmed the Electra complex in such a romantic and oriental way that even the English speakers love it.
Oh, really?...I don't think I've ever seen one of his films.
Yes, you've seen at least one, Diane.
You must be kidding, kiddo.
Oh, no. I'm quite serious. You can't simply recognize it.
(To be continued in the following page)