The Flies

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Summary

Act II, Scene Two

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Summary Act II, Scene Two

The role of the Furies in The Flies differs significantly from their role in the Greek tradition. In the Greek myth, the Furies had the specific role of avenging crimes committed against bonds of kinship. Here, however, the Furies are the goddesses of remorse. In Aeschylus's The Libation Bearers, the fact that Orestes and Electra have killed their mother is of the highest importance. In Sartre's version, Clytemnestra's relationship to him makes little difference to Orestes, since he suffers no remorse regardless. It is only Electra who is troubled by matricide. The Furies here do not come specifically to punish Clytemnestra's murder. They come to punish all sins, and they attempt to elicit remorse in the criminals. This change in the Furies's role is important for Sartre's purposes, since his emphasis is on responsibility and guilt rather than on the actual crime for which responsibility is taken.