Woman Question in Plato's Republic

Mary Townsend is visiting assistant professor in the department of classical studies at Loyola University, New Orleans.

In this remarkable book, Townsend (visiting professor, classics, Loyola Univ., New Orleans) takes on the task of providing a detailed analysis of the "woman question" in Plato's Republic and, specifically, Plato's proposal that the best of the women share in all of the tasks of the guardians and philosopher rulers of the perfectly just city-state. The proposal is considered laughable (thus labeled the "First Wave"), not only by the interlocutors in the dialogue but by most readers through the centuries. Townsend's approach differs from most accounts of Plato's text in two ways: first, she takes his proposal as serious, albeit with elements of humor, satire, and irony; second, she weaves into the discussion a rich account not only of the lives of "ordinary women" in ancient Greece but also of the paradigms of womanly "divinity" of the goddesses of Greek mythology (Athena, Bendis, Artemis, and others), many of whom are dramatic characters in Plato's dialogues. In taking this descriptive approach, Townsend is able to paint a more complete picture of women in Plato's Republic and explain why Plato thought women were crucial for the successful rule of philosophy itself. Excellent notes and bibliography. Summing Up: Essential. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers.

• Introduction: The Woman Question1. The Action of the Argument2. The Drama of Glaucon’s Aporia3. The Conflict of Thumos and Eros in the Hunt 4. Taming the Hunting Women5. Women and Men, Exercising Naked, Together6. Hera, Artemis, and the Political Problem of Privacy7. Socrates’ Robes of Virtue8. The Tragedy of the Philosopher-King9. Woman is a Political AnimalEpilogue: Aporia on the Woman Question