Women’s Assemblies in Aristophanes’ Comedies and the (Non)Breaking of Dramatic Illusion

This article analyzes the portrayal of women’s assemblies in three of Aristophanes’ comedies — Lysistrata, Women at the Thesmophoria, and Assemblywomen — focusing on the breaking of dramatic illusion in scenes featuring exclusively female characters. The author examines how Aristophanes constructs a distinctly “female” space, emphasizing its openness or closedness through the characters’ interactions (or lack thereof) with the audience. Two primary types of women’s assemblies are identified: those modeled after military councils and those mimicking the Athenian assembly. These assemblies are further contrasted with the male assembly depicted in The Acharnians, revealing how Aristophanes blends the cultural and political roles of Athenian citizens to realize his creative vision. A key distinction emerges in the use of broken dramatic illusion: in earlier comedies (Lysistrata, Women at the Thesmophoria), female characters remain unaware of the audience, whereas in the later Assemblywomen, the heroines engage directly with spectators, drawing them into the dramatic action

Illusion · Key (lock · Openness to experience · Politics · Byzantine Studies and History · Classical Antiquity Studies · Crime, Deviance, and Social Control