Lysistrata: 'Tit for Tat'--War and Love

Koryphaios of Men: I brought this fire to ignite a pyre and fricassee your friends.

Koryphaios of Women: I brought this water to douse your pyre.  Tit for tat.

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The concept of ‘tit for tat’ stood out to me in this play.  When the men are planning an attack, the women have a counter-plan.  The men throw insults at the women, and the women are quick with comebacks to insult the men.  The Commissioner and the Police want to arrest the lead women, and instead of being passive, the women threaten to physically abuse these official men and basically scare them away.  The action is back-and-forth, back-and-forth.

This play has a balance to it, almost like a see-saw.  Every action has a reaction.  When it seems like the men have the upper hand, the women turn the tables and send the men scrambling.  There is a definite power struggle between the sexes and both want to prove their dominance.  I think the comedic aspect of this struggle is that the men seek to assert their strength by waging war, while the women want to demonstrate their value to society by withholding love.  War and love are complete opposites, and I think this shows a stark contrast between men and women.  The men begin the play obsessed with war and gradually shift to obsession over love.  The women have construed a connection between war and love, but the men seem to be able to think of only one or the other, but not both at the same time

At the end of the play, with a declaration of peace, it seems that Lysistrata’s plan was effective and has shown that women have the ability to make an impact on society.  The see-saw levels out and both sexes are happy, due to the end of both the war and abstinence.  This balance, however, will most likely not last long.  Balance is difficult to maintain, and there are sure to be more ups and downs.