Phaedra Example Of Enlightenment Values English Literature Essay

The narrative of Phaedra, written by Jean Racine in 1677, appeared to be a calamity with a turn of passion. I noticed that the drama showed the emotions and convulsion of love. It besides showed some strong beliefs and how unsafe emotions can be.

I noticed that Racine ‘s reading of an Ancient Greek calamity originally written by Euripides. Phaedra, the girl of Minos and Pasiphae, is the Queen of Greece, married to Theseus, and she is consumed by an incestuous desire for her stepson Hippolytus. Racine was able to add her ain ideas and beliefs into the Ancient Greek calamity. She was able to throw in a small of Christian beliefs and put her character of Phaedra in a universe outside that of the other characters.

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The narrative shows that she is a immature adult female who her hubby, Theseus started to demo anger towards Phaedra. This is of import portion of the narrative because Theseus is the King of Athens. I believe this is of import portion of the narrative because she most likely viewed him as one of the most powerful work forces in the universe. This would be a confusing type of relationship because how could she remain with person like this and how she could every acquire off from a individual like this. Would it be easier for a adult female to acquire off from a angry hubby if he was a cipher? It seems she was in a state of affairs with a no manner out.

With this type of maltreatment, I see Phaedra confused about her feelings and ideas of her household. The confusion shows during the narrative and experiencing about her household and particularly her stepson Hippolytus. With all the emotions she was traveling through, you start to see the resentment and choler towards the household.

With all the emotions constructing up inside her she needed to allow it out and speak to person about her state of affairs. Phaedra begins to squeal her true feelings about her nurse Oenone. She besides was about to allow her experiencing out to her Gods. Phaedra shortly sees that her resentment was that of turning awaies for the love and passion that she felt for the stepson, Hippolytus. I believe that Oenone is non put into a bad place cognizing the feelings of her Queen. This type of secret is unsafe for her to cognize because of the powerful people she is surrounded by.

I believe that Phaedra uses her power to squeal to Oenone knowing that if she said anything to Theseus there would be great effects for both her and Phaedra. During the narrative, until Phaedra received word that her hubby, Theseus was predicted to be dead. With this information she felt that she was no longer in danger and had no fright over her hubby. This state of affairs gave her the strength to squeal her experiencing the prince.

Of class hearing the intelligence, Oenone did non believe it was wise to state the Prince about her true feelings. It seem that Phaedra did non listen to the warning and seemed that she could non believe clearly about the state of affairs. Phaedra told the Prince about the manner she felt for him, which she was rejected by the Prince. It makes me inquire how a individual can believe that she can get down a relationship of love when the widow of a boy ‘s male parent confesses her feelings to him. She told Hippolytus about how she felt and Hippolytus rejected her feeling for him.

With the rejection by the Prince, Phaedra cursed him to the Gods. The rejection was so painful to Phaedra, it became her slow decease. She besides could non stand that Hippolytus was in love with another adult female. The other adult female was Aricia, who was the princess of the blood royal of Athens. Hippolytus besides had secrets of his ain and feelings that he held within. This is about the same state of affairs as Phaedra had experiencing for him.

Hippolytus besides feared his ain male parent and was able to acquire the strength to state Aricia about his true feelings. To the surprise to both Phaedra and Hippolytus, Theseus was non dead and had returned. Phaedra could non conceal what she had done and had non pick in stating Theseus the truth. At the same clip, Hippolytus besides had to squeal to his male parent about his feelings for Aricia. Theseus was angered about the state of affairs and what had happen during his absence. Theseus banished his boy from his Kingdom, and from his life. Theseus could non acquire over his choler and would non listen to Phaedra ‘s supplications. Theseus blamed his boy for stealing his married woman and the fury of green-eyed monster invoked him.

With all the calamity that took topographic point in this drama, Phaedra whole life became excessively painful for her to bear. I believe her mental wellness started to self-destruct and shortly started to be controlled by lunacy. She started to take out her choler towards her lone true friend thought out the drama, Oenone. Again, Oenone was stuck in the center of a awful state of affairs and besides felt she could non take it any longer. The breakage point for Oenone was when Phaedra asked her to help her in poisoning herself.

Oenone could non take the calamity any longer she took her ain life. During the same clip, Hippolytus was so angry with his male parent ways of covering with the state of affairs, he fled out of the land. In the drama, Hippolytus was filled with choler he did non hold a clear head. He made no programs were he was traveling. He was merely flying out of the land with assorted emotions and choler. With Hippolytus mentality he had a awful accident and died from his hurts.

After hearing the intelligence of Hippolytus decease, Phaedra had shown blamed herself. She lost the one individual who gave her cognition and aided her in ground Oenone, and the adult male whom was her hubby Theseus. Phaedra could take no more and poisoned herself. Guilt, sorrow, and unhappiness are rough experiencing to hold for the exclusive subsister of this calamity. It was so after Hippolytus ‘ decease and the decease of his married woman Phaedra that the male monarch realized what he had lost. He knew that he had made errors.

So once more I am asked if I agree that love and passion, and other emotions are every bit unsafe as the drama seems to do them. After reading this narrative, I asked myself if I agree that love and passion, and other emotions are as unsafe. I would hold to state yes to those inquiries. We all seen or even felt these emotions twenty-four hours in and twenty-four hours out. We all have to put back and retrieve the first love and the emotions of losing the 1s we love. The four small word, “ Love ” is a slippery thing we all have to digest in our ain lives. With the rascality of love we besides have the emotions that most of us can non command. We would non be human if we can state that we did non experience powerless over the emotions of love. When you add emotion and love together it could go the best thing in a individual life or a really unsafe one.

I can see people acquire to the point of their lives that emotion and love takes over, with no proper counsel, the lone manner to halt such emotions is to stop their life. We all have to understand that we are worlds and we can non populate on ground entirely. Without any emotions or love we are fundamentally an empty shell with no psyche. We can non merely make off with the good or bad of love and emotions.

We all have to understand that our ain emotions can impact people around us and our household. However, a human emotion does non demo marks of failing and otherwise non a disease. I believe that people who do non demo emotions shows failing because it takes bravery to demo people your true emotions. I do non believe it was right that Phaedra had emotions for her hubby step-son ; nevertheless, it took a batch of bravery to state Hippolytus her true feelings for him.

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