“Elektra” - Jennifer Saint

 🏺I loved this book! It was a fantastic follow-up to “Daughters of Sparta” by Claire Heywood as it covers some of the same ground, though with different perspectives. The story is told from the POV of three women before/during/after the Trojan War, and shows us how each was trapped by the vanity and hubris of men and gods. 

🏺 The story begins with Elektra, eagerly waiting for her father to return from the Trojan war which has just ended. Elektra is the younger daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. I enjoyed reading Elektra’s point of view; knowing from DOS that she vehemently opposed Clytemnestra’s position of vengeance. We see the powerful impact on young Elektra of her father’s absence and her mother’s indifference (after the death of Iphigenea). She elevates Agamemnon from a hero to her personal savior during his long absence. She becomes mad with desperation for his return, certain that he will be able to set things right in her home and in the court.

🏺The Clytemnestra in this novel is overcome by fury at her husband’s great deceit in regards to Iphigenia. It becomes her sole and driving motivation during Agamemnon’s absence, and pushes her to form an unlikely alliance to wrest power from him. This Clytemenstra is not looking out for herself, or promoting her interests by assuming control. She simply wants to avenge her slain daughter.

Though I knew the outcome of the pivotal scene between Agamemnon and Clytemnestra upon his return from the war, the tension that Saint builds was *chef’s kiss*!

🏺We might attribute it to her youth, but Elektra employed convoluted logic to free Agamemnon of any culpability for the death and destruction of the Trojan War. Clytemnestra recognized the truth: that the Trojan War was the result of Agamemnon’s desire to cement his status as the “best of the Greeks”. Nothing more, nothing less. Clytemnestra saw that it was no noble cause that her husband charged off to fight.

🏺 The final POV in this novel is that of Cassandra, a princess of Troy and a sister of Paris. She is a reviled oracle, cursed by Apollo to make prophecies but to be never believed. She sees the doom of Troy from the moment Paris returns from the mountains, but her warnings are ceaselessly ignored.

🏺 The tragedy of the house of Atreus which both Clytemnestra and Elektra are apprised, is a terrible curse. Yet each is so consumed with vengeance that they don’t see their own hands in continuing the cursed cycle of parricide/prolicide/mariticide … essentially the curse was that family members of the house of Atreus would murder their own kin in cold blood.

Clytemnestra could not think beyond avenging Iphigenea. What would become of her living children as a result of her neglect? Her choice of ally would put her own son into harm’s way, but she was unseeing of any of these consequences. Her greatest crime against Elektra was allowing her maternal rage to fester to a singleminded, vengeful purpose, at the expense of her living children who were utterly ignored.When she tries to make Elektra see her POV, she is far too late and Elektra has succumbed to her own spiral of self-pity.

Elektra is likewise consumed, and views herself as a self-righteous martyr, willfully goading her brother to act though she is aware of the terrible cost to him. Giorgious comes close to opening her eyes, but alas, ultimately fails. She gave me strong Margaret Beaufort vibes from Philippa Gregory’s “The Red Queen”. 

🏺By contrast to Clytemnestra, Cassandra, and Elektra, Helen appears unscathed in this narrative. When her sister tries to lay the blame for the Trojan War at her feet, Helen rejects her interpretation and coolly asks Clytemnestra if she really believes that the prideful Agamemnon would not eventually make his way to do battle with Troy under some pretext or another.