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The Hair and Footprints of Orestes and Electra
Serpents and snakes are complex and double-edged symbols within The Libation Bearers. Early in the play, we learn that Clytemnestra has had a dream that she gave birth to a snake only to have it maul her. Orestes explains to us that the snake represents him, and that he will need to use deception and violence against his mother in order to avenge his father’s murder. Clytemnestra confirms this reading, realizing (moments from her death), that her dream foretold Orestes’ return. Later in the play, however, both Orestes and the Chorus refer to the treacherous Clytemnestra and Aegisthus as serpents, thus turning a symbol that was once seemingly positive into a negative one. Orestes’ connection with snakes and serpents, therefore, is more slippery than originally thought—he has taken on serpent-like qualities (such as deception, disguise, and betrayal) in order to carry out a divinely sanctioned act, but perhaps has also sinned gravely in the process.
Serpents and Snakes Quotes in The Libation Bearers
The The Libation Bearers quotes below all refer to the symbol of Serpents and Snakes. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Lines 1-585
Quotes
If the serpent came from the same place as I,
and slept in the bands that swaddled me, and its jaws
spread wide for the breast that nursed me into life
and clots stained the milk, mother’s milk,
and she cried in fear and agony—so be it.
As she bred this sign, this violent prodigy
so she dies by violence. I turn serpent,
I kill her. So the vision says.
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Lines 719-1065
Quotes
But she who plotted this horror against her husband,
she carried his children, growing in her womb
and she—I loved her once
and now I loathe, I have to loathe—what is she?
Some moray eel, some viper born to rot her mate
with a single touch, no fang to strike him
just the wrong, the reckless fury in her heart!
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Serpents and Snakes Symbol Timeline in The Libation Bearers
The timeline below shows where the symbol Serpents and Snakes appears in The Libation Bearers. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Lines 1-585
...too, prays to Zeus, comparing the dead Agamemnon to an eagle killed by a treacherous snake. They once again compare their enslaved state to that of Electra, and praise Agamemnon for...
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...that Clytemnestra was shaken by a bad dream in which she gave birth to a serpent, which then bit off her nipple as she breastfed it. Clytemnestra has sent offerings to...
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Orestes wonders if he himself is the serpent, and if this dream has in fact predicted Clytemnestra’s death at his hands. The leader...
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Lines 719-1065
...remains resolute, refuting all of her arguments. At last Clytemnestra realizes that Orestes is the serpent she dreamt of—at this, Orestes drags her into the palace, shutting the doors behind him.
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...explains that his love has turned to loathing. He calls her an eel and a serpent, and curses the robes that he holds. Deploring the evil of women, Orestes asserts that...
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...reassure him that he’s done the right thing, asserting that he’s freed Argos from “two serpents.”
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