The Trojan Women

Main Ideas

• The theme of suffering and destruction caused by war. Euripides illustrates the terrible consequences of the Trojan War for the women and children left alive after the city's destruction.
• The fate of women and their role in society. The play emphasizes how women become victims of male ambitions and military conflicts.
• Helplessness and despair. The characters, especially the women, face hopelessness and the loss of everything dear to them.
• Critique of heroism and military glory. Euripides questions traditional notions of heroism, showing that war brings more suffering than glory.
• Fate and divine intervention. The play touches on the theme of fate and the role of the gods in human lives, showing how human destinies are predetermined by higher powers.