How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Act.Scene.Line). Every time a character talks counts as one line, even if what they say turns into a long monologue. We used the translation by S. Gilbert found in No Exit and Three Other Plays, published by Vintage Books in 1989.
Quote #4
CLYTEMNESTRA
You will […] murmur to yourself, "It wasn't I, it could not have been I, who did that." Yet, though you disown it time and time again, it will always be there, a dead weight holding you back. (1.1.206)
Sartre explored this problem – the difficulty with reconciling the self of the past with the self of the present with the self of the future - in Being and Nothingness. He believes that man re-created himself in every moment through every choice and action.
Quote #5
CLYTEMNESTRA
I do not know who you are, young man, nor what brings you here, but your presence bodes no good. Electra hates me – that, of course, I always knew. But for fifteen years we have kept the peace; only our eyes betrayed our feelings. And now you have come, you have spoken, and here we are showing our teeth and snapping at each other like two curs in the street. (1.1.210)
Clytemnestra here claims that Orestes is responsible for causing this vehement argument. What is it about Orestes's presence that drives these two to fight?
Quote #6
THE TUTOR
What an ugly lot! Observe, young master, their sallow cheeks and sunken eyes. These folks are perishing from fear. What better example could we have of the effects of superstition? (2.1.21)
The Tutor is a pillar of logic and reason in The Flies. He looks to empirical evidence to discern what's going on rather than seeking explanations from men like Demetrios (Zeus is disguise).