Literature

The play Phaedra by French dramatist Jean Racine represents the classic tradition of the French stage. In the 17th century France, then at her apex, demanded great things of her artists to support the glory of the armies and the royal house, and the writers of the period assaulted the past in an effort to arouse the minds of their contemporaries to past glories and to stimulate them to greater efforts. The vast storehouse of classic legends became the source of countless plots and themes. In whole or in part, ancient plays and myths were constructed into plays which adhered as closely as possible to the classic tradition. Racine stands foremost among the neo-classicists of his century.

Racine’s play is based on an old Greek tragedy called Hippolytus by Euripedes. Hippolytus is the illegitimate son of Theseus, King of Athens, by the Amazon queen, Hippolyte. He shuns women and spends his time hunting. Theseus married the young princess of Crete, Phaedra, by whom he had several children. When Phaedra first saw Hippolytus, she fell madly in love with her stepson, for he was handsome and about her own age. But being a virtuous married woman, though emotionally weak, she is determined to conceal her love for Hippolytus, no matter how much she suffers from her unrequited love.

Racine uses powerful contrasts in story and characters. For example, Phaedra’s confession of love to Hippolytus is placed immediately after Hippolytus’ similar confession to Aricia. As a result, the innocent love of Aricia and Hippolytus is set against the illicit love of Phaedra, and the sweetness and youth of Aricia serve to point up the torment and maturity of Phaedra.

Although Racine based his play on Euripides’ Hippolytus, he made many significant changes. He eliminated the gods from his play; the monster from the sea is the only supernatural element. There is no chorus, but Racine substitutes confidantes for it. Each of the principal characters, except Theseus, has a confidant: Phaedra has Oenone, Hippolytus has Teramenes, and Aricia has Ismene.

Sin and temptation are among the principle ideas in the play. Phaedra’s knowledge that her love is sinful does not increase her powers of resistance.

Imagery: symbolism of light and darkness. Daylight is associated with innocence and night with guilt.

The role of Phaedra seems at first to be one long confession, but in reality there are 3 distinct confessions and all of them serve different purposes. The confession to Oenone is made partly to rid herself of a crushing sense of guilt and partly to obtain practical assistance in her attempts to win Hippolytus. The confession to Hippolytus himself is intended to break down his resistance. Only the final confession to Theseus is disinterested and is a belated attempt to make up for her wrong.

Phaedra would like to see Hippolytus trapped by the minotaur—trapped and helpless—so that she can rescue him and win his love. There is no need to dwell on the meaning of the “descent,” the guiding “thread”, or the more obvious significance of the labyrinth itself, beyond remarking that the whole passage is a symbol for the sex act. (see footnote 5 on page 164 and footnote 7 on page 178). The labyrinth (maze) is the labyrinth of our hidden desires, a region beyond the range of normal human intercourse. It is the labyrinth in which Phaedra herself is a prisoner. She is anxious to see Hippolytus trapped in the same prison; she wants to make him fall in love with her or possibly to show him that, without knowing it, he is already in love with her.