The Eumenides: The Ghost of Clytemnestra Rouses the Furies
The recap, key beats, and evidence for The Ghost of Clytemnestra Rouses the Furies, without reopening the whole book.
Section recap · 2 min read
What happens in The Ghost of Clytemnestra Rouses the Furies.
The ghost of Clytemnestra appears and wakes the sleeping Furies. She is furious that they have let Orestes escape while they slept. She reminds them of the offerings she made to them in life and demands they pursue him. The Furies stir, groan, and begin to wake. This scene gives Clytemnestra one last moment of agency and establishes that the Furies have a personal obligation to her that they have failed to meet.
The beats worth remembering.
Clytemnestra's ghost confronts the sleeping Furies
She scolds them for sleeping while her killer walks free. The image of the murder victim standing over her negligent avengers is darkly ironic and gives Clytemnestra real moral weight even in death.
She invokes the gifts she gave them in life
Clytemnestra reminds the Furies that she honored them with offerings that other gods refused. She is calling in a debt, framing her demand as a matter of reciprocal obligation.
The Furies begin to stir
They moan and shift in their sleep, responding to her voice. The moment when they start to wake is the moment the pursuit of Orestes becomes active again.
The moments you can actually use later.
Clytemnestra's reminder of her offerings to the Furies
She tells them she gave them honors and gifts that other gods would not accept, establishing a prior relationship that makes their failure to pursue Orestes a breach of duty.
The Furies' physical response to her voice
Their groaning and stirring while still half-asleep shows that Clytemnestra's claim on them is strong enough to pull them out of a supernaturally deep sleep, which tells students something about the power of her grievance.
What to carry forward.
The Furies operate on obligation, not just instinct
Clytemnestra does not just scream at them. She reminds them of a specific relationship and a specific debt. Students should understand the Furies as agents of a code, not mindless monsters.
Clytemnestra is still a force even as a ghost
She gets no sympathy from the audience, but she gets results. Her appearance here shows that her claim on justice has not ended with her death, which is exactly what the Furies will argue throughout the play.
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How this guide is built
This guide is built from the original text to help you get oriented fast. It is designed for recall, paper planning, and getting unstuck, but it is still a paraphrased guide, not a substitute for the reading itself. Double-check anything important before you turn in formal work.