AIDA is the story of three people caught up in a web of social and political
rules that dictate who they can love and who controls whom. While we assume
that an ancient warlike culture would be totally dominated by its men, the
truth is that there was also much power and influence held by the women of
the time.
We see that power illustrated in two central characters of our story: Aida
and Amneris. Two women from different cultures; friends and rivals. Their
independence and strength was fostered by the culture in which they were
immersed. The Egyptians, isolated in their river valley, believed themselves
to be a unique and superior culture. They made slaves of those they captured
in war, considering them to have no more rights than animals. Temples were
often decorated with scenes of the pharaoh crushing foreign captives, as a
symbol of his divine authority.
Women in ancient Egypt enjoyed a more equal status with men than in other
civilizations of the time. Property was handed down from mother to daughter;
a woman could buy and sell property, enter into legal contracts, take action
in court, and even adopt children on her own. Mothers were revered in
Egyptian society and given the greatest respect.
Women did not take part in government. However, in the 18th Dynasty (about
500 years before the time AIDA is set), a woman, Hatshepsut, ascended the
throne after the death of her husband, Pharaoh Thutmose II. She was a strong
ruler, encouraging the expansion of trade and the construction of many
monuments.
However, in most royal households, the women were part of a harem, kept
secluded with their handmaidens (women of noble Egyptian families) and their
foreign slaves. Most of their time was spent grooming themselves and
providing music and song for royal feasts. Among the farmers, chores were
divided between men and women. Women did not handle tools with blades, but
they would separate chaff from wheat, grind grain into flour, and prepare
flax for weaving into linen. Men were responsible for washing clothes at the
banks of the Nile River because of the risk of being attacked by crocodiles.
So remember, think twice the next time you try to call something “woman’s
work”!
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