The earth is identified as a woman, Gaia. Her food, on which men subsist, is the property of women. Spring, the season that brings life, is also feminine. The life-bringing season disappears because of the male gods and their need to abduct and control women.
Violence interferes with the necessary dealings of life and all humans suffer.
Although Dionysius is a man and a god of wine, he is the most effeminate of the male divinities. The Maenads represent violent and senseless destruction. In a sense, they are emasculated by wine, just as Dionysius becomes less of a man because of it. Gaia intrigues against her husband because of this. Her bond with her children is stronger.