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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 10 general entries.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Racine, Jean
| In the last scene of Act V, after Phaedra's and Hippolytus' deaths, what does Theseus do to Aricia? | Jean Racine's "Phaedra"
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He declares her his daughter.. He has discovered that Hippolytus had loved Aricia and planned to marry her. He takes away her chains and declares that she will be his daughter now.
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She poisons herself.. This was a bit of a trick question, actually, since in Euripides' play she hangs herself, pinning to her body a note accusing Hippolytus of rape. In Racine, she takes "a poison which Medea brought to Greece". Medea was Theseus' step-mother in Greek mythology.
Another interesting point is that Theseus killed the Minotaur, who was the half-brother of Phaedra.
He is dragged to his death in his chariot.. Theseus curses and banishes him after Oenone lies that he tried to rape Phaedra. As he is leaving, a sea monster - half-bull, half-dragon - scares his horses, who panic and rush away, dragging the fallen chariot along the stony road with Hippolytus tangled in the reins. Ouch!
Aricia. Theramenes is Hippolytus' tutor, so I hope he isn't in love with him! And of course, he certainly does not love his step-mother in that way!
An interesting question: why do they refer to the Roman gods instead of the Greek ones?
Oenone. The answer is indeed Oenone. Panope is Phaedra's lady-in-waiting. Ismene is the confidante of Aricia.
Oenone is blamed by Phaedra for Hippolytus rejecting her confession of love. She is shunned by Phaedra, and commits suicide by drowning herself.
Troezen. Although Theseus and Phaedra rule Athens, the play actually takes place in Troezen. Theseus has been absent for six months, and he sends his wife to Troezen under Hippolytus' care for her safety.
Theseus. Phaedra is his wife, and therefore the queen. Hippolytus is his son from a previous marriage to Antiope, Queen of the Amazons. Aricia is forbidden by Theseus to marry, to stop her continuing her line. Theseus has killed her brothers, as they revolted against him.
| I've already mentioned that the story and characters are based on Greek myth. Many Greek and Roman tragic poets wrote about Phaedra. Which two are most notable? (The former is Greek, the latter Roman.) | Jean Racine's "Phaedra"
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Euripides and Seneca. Seneca the Younger's "Phaedra" was adapted from Euripides' "Hippolytus".
5. Richard Wilbur translated the play into English in 1987. His translation replaces the alexandrine meter with the pentameter, and has the exact same number of lines as the original (1,654)!
1677. Racine wrote the play at the age of 38, after which he abandoned the theater. He wrote no more plays except for two religious works, "Esther" and "Athalie", which he wrote more than a decade later, in 1689 and 1691 respectively.
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