The Architect of Anguish

How Martha Nussbaum Lived the Rage of Hecuba

Hecuba | The Power of Myth | Vulnerability of the Human | Philosophy as Lived Experience | Tragedy and Loss | Endurance and Strength

Sometimes in the summer of 2018, I typed, ‘Greek Mythology’ on the YouTube search bar and there was a short video, of about 3 to 5 minutes long, that ranked at the first screen of my laptop. I clicked, watched and forgotten. After a few weeks, I realized that the speaker of the video is scrolling in my mental sphere, unconsciously. By then, I had forgotten the key phrase, through which I had stumbled upon the video, so it took me a few months to regain the access of the short clip in the pacific ocean of random videos.

The speaker was Martha Nussbaum. Frankly speaking, I didn’t know her then as much as I know her now. I had seen Examined Life(2008) documentary in which she was one of the eight philosophers[Slavoj Žižek, Avital Ronell, Judith Butler, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Martha Nussbaum, Cornel West] featured as speakers. In 1986, Martha published her first book, The Fragility of Goodness: Luck and Ethics in Greek Tragedy and Philosophy. To promote the book, she must have appeared in a few interviews in the mid 80s and the clip was an excerpt from one of such media appearances.

Hecuba, the legendary queen of Troy

What caught my subconscious lens in 2018 was this: Martha is narrating a story which is just a myth(debated), and set in 4000+ years old historical event. But the way she is capturing my attention is virginally hypnotic. The camera person of the interview might be attentive and caught the deeply emotional aerobics on her face, voice and the slight movement of her body.

The Power of Myth

This exactly is the role of mythology. Myths are not dependent on the mercy of rationality and logic. They are there to carry universal human emotions, irrespective of the immensity of linear passage of time. Yes, the only care one must take is not to elevate a myth to state policy, making it trans-continental religion and forced modern minds to follow the commands of ancient stories. But in everyday life, myth plays a pivotal role in conveying deeply emotional turmoil in distance and time.

Mythology and Philosophy as Lived Experience

Nussbaum has internalized Hecuba story, who was the legendary queen of Troy, so much so that it looks like her own personal tragedy. This also speaks volume about her dedication to the subject(mythology and philosophy) in bachelor, master and to her doctoral studies. She has written over 25 books and teaches philosophy and law at prestigious American universities. She is like the JK Rowling of academics. Martha Nussbaum and Nobel laureate, Amartya Sen, worked together in the late 80s and the early 90s. They are the leading theorists of the capabilities approach in the economics of human freedom and well-being.

Emotional attachment with one’s Subject

In the flow of discussion, I have seen many prominent personalities show emotion while speaking at public events like televised interviews etc.. For example, American literary critic, Harold Bloom, was deeply emotional about his chosen field of work too. But the way Martha has internalized Greek myths is an exception. This exactly is the reason, even after the seven years of watching the video clip, she surfaces in my head every now and then. This is the power of feeling which can’t be described in words.

Vulnerability of the Human

We are still as vulnerable as Hecuba was in 1184/3 BCE or in 424 BCE when Euripides, the ancient Greek playwright, composed the play, The Hecuba. Martha’s emotion is exactly like mine when I read the play. Sometimes, I feel that this common understanding that the history is cyclic is nothing but revisiting of one set of tragedies, over and over again, to different individuals. Martha Nussbaum beautifully captures the eternal vulnerability of human in her famous quote:

“To be a good human being is to have a kind of openness to the world, an ability to trust uncertain things beyond your own control, that can lead you to be shattered in very extreme circumstances for which you were not to blame. That says something very important about the condition of the ethical life: that it is based on a trust in the uncertain and on a willingness to be exposed; it’s based on being more like a plant than like a jewel, something rather fragile, but whose very particular beauty is inseparable from that fragility.”

Philosophy as Lived Experience

In the video, Martha is advocating for popularizing philosophy to everyday level as a living experience, not placed at the lofty altar of academic dryness and seclusion. Socrates, who chose death over life to prove his point, was a living example of philosophy as lived, experienced and to die for idea.

Authored by #ZarionZory

💐🙏🌹 Read more of my work at https://zarionzory.substack.com

This article was originally published on WordPress on September 7, 2025