Philosophy 422 ADM

Fowler 2 September 1992

Reaction to The Bacchae
and The Birth of Tragedy

Perhaps the most striking motif in Euripedes “The Bacchae” is the duality
that begins with Dionysus’ androgynous appearance and his various names,
and ends with the Chorus’ conclusion that “The gods have many
shapes./ ...And what was most expected has not been accomplished.”
This, to be sure, is true, although duality’s assault on the reader and
the characters throughout the play may leave one guessing exactly what he
should “most expect.” The telling, though perhaps late-coming,
explanation that Dionysus can bring extreme pleasure and extreme pain
perfectly defines the play, as one can see by comparing the Bacchanalian
revelry of the women at the mount with the gruesome blood bath that
follows. The line between the two is thin, if it is present at all, and
the women fated to be taken into Dionysus’ charm cannot help but cross
the line, and pursue blood with the same zeal they employed in their
search for milk and nourishment.

The Nietzschean / Dionysian element is in some ways obvious and in others

far less palpable. In considering the passion with which Cadmus,
Teiresias, and the Bacchanalians live, the reader should easily
understand Nietzsche’s joy with the Dionysian. But squaring Dionysus’
plea to bow down to a god, no matter how vital that god, with Nietzsche’s
general approach to deities and religion is a difficult
philosophical task, and perhaps not a necessary one.