Clytemnestra Chapter 2: "Prey" – Summary and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Clytemnestra looks into the Ceadas ravine, where Spartans discard criminals and weak infants. She remembers hiding there as a child. Now, while hunting in the forest, she senses she is being followed. She descends from the high ground, cuts her hand on a rock, and is startled by a deer. She recalls her mother’s punishment for shaving her head to train with Spartan boys: two days without food. Seeking safety, she climbs to a cave and then up a tree. A lynx attacks; she falls, shoots an arrow, and stabs the animal with her dagger before retreating into the cave. After the lynx dies, she retrieves her weapon, ties the carcass to her quiver, and begins the walk home, hoping her mother will be proud.

Key Events

Clytemnestra observes the Ceadas ravine, reflecting on the Spartan tradition of throwing criminals and weak infants to their deaths.
She remembers hiding as a child and hearing the imagined voices of dead babies in the wind.
While hunting, she senses she is being tracked, descends the trail, cuts her palm on a rock, and is frightened by a deer.
She recalls her mother’s punishment for shaving her head to train with boys: she was starved for two days.
She climbs to a cave and then into a tall tree for safety.
A lynx jumps onto her tree, causing her to fall; she shoots arrows and stabs the lynx with a dagger, then hides in the cave.
After the lynx dies, she retrieves her dagger, ties the carcass to her quiver, and heads home.

Character Development

Clytemnestra demonstrates physical endurance and resourcefulness: she climbs, fights a lynx, and tends her own wound. Her recollection of the Ceadas shows her early exposure to Spartan cruelty and her reflective nature. The punishment for her attempt to train like a boy reveals both her defiance of gender expectations and her mother’s rigid enforcement of Spartan norms. By hoping her mother will be proud of the hunt, she seeks approval while still carving her own path.

Themes, Symbols, and Motifs

Survival and Violence: The hunt and the lynx encounter echo the brutal Spartan training and the harsh reality of life in Sparta. Clytemnestra’s fight for survival prefigures her later capacity for violence.
Gender Roles: Clytemnestra’s shaved head and attempt to train with boys challenge female expectations. Her mother’s punishment reinforces the boundaries placed on Spartan women, yet Clytemnestra persists in hunting.
Nature and the Gods: The forest is both a place of danger (the lynx, the ravine) and a site of connection to the divine. Clytemnestra wonders if Artemis sees her; her parents disagree on whether gods inhabit nature.
The Ceadas as Motif: The ravine symbolizes the state’s control over life and death, and Clytemnestra’s childhood memories there foreshadow the moral weight she will later carry.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 2 establishes the foundational brutality of Sparta and Clytemnestra’s emerging resilience. It introduces key aspects of her character—defiance, endurance, and a complex relationship with her mother. The hunting scene and the memory of the Ceadas create a stark backdrop for her future choices, highlighting the world she must navigate as a woman and a future queen.

Study Questions and Answers

What does Clytemnestra’s recollection of the Ceadas reveal about Spartan society?
It reveals that Sparta ruthlessly eliminated those deemed weak—criminals and frail infants—and that children like Clytemnestra witnessed this violence, normalizing death from a young age.
How does Clytemnestra’s mother’s reaction to her shaving her head reflect gender expectations?
The mother’s punishment (starving her for two days) shows that even in militaristic Sparta, women were not allowed to participate in the full training regime reserved for boys; any attempt to cross that boundary was harshly corrected.
What is the significance of the lynx hunt for Clytemnestra’s character?
The successful hunt demonstrates her physical skill, courage, and determination to prove herself. It also shows she is willing to suffer injury and endure fear to achieve her goal, traits that will define her later life.

Previous: Chapter 1 Summary
Next: Chapter 3 Summary
Book Hub: Back to Clytemnestra