(Survival) Life after the War

Helena in three modern adaptations

Abstract

Helen in three modern Helena, the so-called most beautiful of all women, is often given as the trigger of the Trojan War, she functions as (lust) object and scapegoat. She is reduced to and defined by her appearance and the fact that she left her homeland. But how does she fare after the war? How do the people of both warring parties relate to her? How is Helen received and seen by her social environment after the Trojan War? On the basis of the novels "Eine ganz gewöhnliche Ehe. Odysseus and Penelope" (1989) and "The Women of Troy" (2021), the opinions of Greek and Trojan women and men are shown and the aspects of guilt, victim blaming, solidarity among women, sexuality and beauty are considered. While, from today's perspective, little feminist thought emerges here, and Helena remains mostly the object of desire or the target of vengeful vows, a different, emancipatory approach can be found in the DC series "Legends of Tomorrow" (2017): The modern superheroine team - presumably also due to the existing temporal and emotional distance to the Trojan War - does not deny Helena her self-determination, but allows her an alternative ending in which she can leave the war and also the men behind.