The Trojan Women

Synopsis

This new comic-book version of Euripides' classic The Trojan Women follows the fates of Hekabe, Andromache and Kassandra after Troy has been sacked and all its men killed. The Trojan Women is a wildly imaginative collaboration between the visual artist Rosanna Bruno and the poet and classicist Anne Carson. Both wacky and devastating, the book gives a genuine representation of how human beings are affected by warfare. All the characters take the form of animals (except Kassandra, whose mind is in another world). Anne Carson collaborated with artist Bianca Stone on their Sophokles reimagining, Antigonick, published by Bloodaxe in 2012. This new collaboration with Rosanna Bruno couldn't be more different. Rosanna Bruno is an artist who makes paintings, comics and bad puns. Her first book, The Slanted Life of Emily Dickinson (Andrews McMeel, 2017), is a book of cartoons based on the myth of her life.

Summary

Chapter 1: The Sack of Troy

Summary:
The play opens with the sack of Troy by the Greeks. The city has been reduced to ruins, and the Trojan women and children have been taken as slaves. The women are lamenting their fate and the destruction of their homeland.

Example:
"Oh city, city, where are your proud towers now?
Where are the golden roofs that once shone so bright?
Where are the walls that once kept out the foe?"

Chapter 2: The Captives Arrive in Greece

Summary:
The Greek army returns to Argos with their captives. The women are divided among the victorious generals, including Agamemnon, Menelaus, and Odysseus. They are treated as servants and concubines.

Example:
"We are slaves now, at the mercy of our masters.
We must do their bidding, or they will kill us."

Chapter 3: Hecuba's Lament

Summary:
Hecuba, the queen of Troy, is particularly distraught by the fall of her city and the loss of her family. She is now a slave to Agamemnon, and she must witness the suffering of her daughters.

Example:
"Oh my children, my children!
Where are you now?
Are you dead, or are you still alive?"

Chapter 4: Cassandra's Prophecy

Summary:
Cassandra, Hecuba's daughter, is a prophetess. She has foreseen the destruction of Troy and the death of Agamemnon. She warns the Greeks of their impending doom, but they do not believe her.

Example:
"I see blood, blood everywhere!
I see death and destruction!
Beware, Greeks, beware!"

Chapter 5: The Death of Agamemnon

Summary:
Agamemnon is murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover, Aegisthus. Clytemnestra had been plotting against Agamemnon for years, and she is now free to take revenge.

Example:
"You are dead, Agamemnon, my lord.
And I am free at last."

Chapter 6: The Trojan Women's Farewell

Summary:
The Trojan women are preparing to leave Argos. They have been given their freedom by the Greeks, but they are now homeless and alone. They bid farewell to their former homeland and lament their lost loved ones.

Example:
"We are leaving now, Argos, leaving behind
The ruins of our city and the graves of our dead.
We do not know where we shall go,
But we will always remember Troy."