F. Racine, "Phaedra": a summary. "Phaedra" - a tragedy in five acts

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Retelling a work helps to quickly get acquainted with the text, understand what it is about, and find out its plot. Below is a tragedy written by J. Racine in the 17th century - "Phaedra". A summary of the chapters (in this case, by acts) is a more detailed version of the text.

Jean Baptiste Racine (December 21, 1639 - April 21, 1699) - writer, one of the key figures in French drama of the seventeenth century. Known for his tragedies.

Phaedra is a five-act tragedy written in 1677. It is considered Racine's finest work.

For those who do not have time to read the full work written by Jean Baptiste Racine ("Phaedra"), a summary of the actions and phenomena below.

List of actors

• Phaedra, daughter of the Cretan king Minos and his wife Pasiphae. Married to Theseus, but in love with his son Hippolytus.
• Hippolytus, son of Theseus and the Amazon queen Antiope.
• Theseus, king of Athens, son of Aegeus. Was a companionHercules in his legendary exploits.
• Arikia, princess of Athens.
• Oenone, Phaedra's nurse and chief advisor.
• Ismena, confidante of Princess Arikia.
• Panope, one of Phaedra's servants who acts as a messenger.
• Teramenes, Hippolytus' teacher.
• Guard.

The action takes place in the city of Troezen.

Jean Racine, "Phaedra": a summary. Hippolytus talking to Theramen

So, the first act, the first appearance: the scene opens with a conversation between Hippolytus and Theramenes. Hippolyte informs his mentor of his intention to leave Troezena. Hippolytus' father, the Athenian king Theseus, is married to Phaedra, daughter of his former enemy Minos, king of Crete. Theseus went on a journey six months ago, and since then there has been no news from him, so Hippolyte decides to recover in search of him.

Teramen tries to convince Hippolytus. He believes that Theseus does not want to be found. Hippolyte is adamant, because in addition to a sense of duty to his father, he also has his own personal reasons to leave the city: it seems to him that his stepmother Phaedra hates him. Now Phaedra is very ill with an unknown disease and does not pose a danger to Hippolytus.

It also turns out that Hippolytus is in love with Arikia, the daughter of the former ruler of Athens. Teramen is very happy for his student, but the problem is that Theseus forbade Arikia, as the daughter of the king he deposed, to marry and have children.

Phaedra says goodbye to life

Act one, events 2-3: Oenone enters. She says that the queengot out of bed and wants to be alone in the fresh air. The men leave, and Phaedra, weakened by illness, appears. From her monologue, it becomes clear that she wants to die. Phaedra also refers to the sun, her mythical ancestor. According to her, this is the last time she sees him.

Oenona hears Phaedra, she is horrified. Enona was the queen's nurse and treats her like her own daughter. Now she reproaches the woman for her unwillingness to share the cause of her illness with her confidante. Oenone reminds Phaedra that, having died, the queen will leave her two young sons to be torn to pieces by her enemy Hippolyte. She reacts violently to the mention of her stepson's name, but still wants to die. Phaedra talks about her guilt, which leaves her no choice. What exactly is her fault, she hides, and this extremely offends Enona. What is the payment for her, the nurse, for all these years of devoted service?

Finally Phaedra gives in: she is in fact in love with Hippolyte, in love since the first time she saw him. This is what gnaws at her, this is what pushes her to the grave. Phaedra struggled with herself as best she could, even tried to propitiate the goddess of love Aphrodite, but nothing calmed her passion. She can only be outwardly rude to Hippolyte. She is afraid that one day she will lose control of herself and dishonor her name. So he decides to die.

The news of Theseus' death

Action one, events of phenomena 4-5. The maid Panopa delivers the shocking news: Theseus is dead. There is unrest in the city, because you need to choose a new ruler. There are three candidates: Hippolytus, the captive Arikia and the eldest sonPhaedras.

Oenone tells Phaedra that the queen must now live, otherwise her son will die. Hippolytus should inherit Troezen, while Athens rightfully belongs to Phaedra's son. Phaedra should meet with Hippolytus to convince him to join forces with her against Arikia. The queen and her nurse know nothing of Hippolyte's true attitude towards the captive princess.

Jean Racine, "Phaedra": a summary. Arikiya and her maid

We suggest reading the events of the action of the second, the appearance of the first. Arikia learns from her confidante Ismena that Theseus is no longer alive, and that the princess is no longer a prisoner. Arikia is in no hurry to rejoice: she does not believe in the death of Theseus. She does not understand why Hippolyte should treat her softer than his father. Change of another opinion. She studied Hippolytus enough and came to the conclusion that he loves Arikia.

This is the sweetest news for a princess of all. Arikia's life cannot be called happy: after all six of her brothers fell in battle with Theseus, she was left completely alone, surrounded by political enemies. She was forbidden to marry, which, however, did not bother her much. At least until the girl saw Hippolyte. Arikiya fell in love with him not only for his beauty, but also for his spiritual features. Hippolytus for her is Theseus, devoid of flaws. The deceased Athenian king was notorious as a big hunter of women, while Hippolytus is blameless and supposedly despises love.

And yet Arakia is afraid that Ismena might be wrong about Hippolyte's feelings.

HippolytusArikii

Consider phenomena 2-4. Hippolytus enters and confirms Ismene's words: Theseus is dead, and Arikia is now free. In addition, Athens chooses a new ruler. According to the ancient law, Hippolytus cannot take the throne, since he was not born a Greek, Arikia has every right to do so. Hippolytus wants her to own the Athenian throne, while the man himself is ready to be content with Troezen. As for the eldest son of Phaedra, he, according to the plan of the stepson, will become the king of Crete. The son of Theseus is going to convince the people of Athens that the princess should take the throne.

Arakia cannot believe in such nobility: it seems to her that she is in a dream. Further, Ippolit confesses his love for her. At this moment Teramen enters. Phaedra sent him for Hippolyte: the princess wants to talk to her stepson alone. He refuses to go to her, but Arakia manages to convince him. Hippolyte goes to meet Phaedra.

Phaedra's confession

The events of the second act of phenomena 4-6 are as follows. Phaedra is terribly worried before talking with Hippolyte - she has forgotten everything she wanted to say. Enona tries to calm her mistress.

When Hippolyte arrives, Phaedra tells him of her worries about her eldest son's future. She is afraid that Hippolyte will take revenge on him for the oppression inflicted on him by his stepmother. The stepson is offended by such suspicions. He would not be able to go to such meanness. Phaedra admits that she wanted to expel Hippolytus and forbade him to pronounce his name in her presence, but she did not do this not out of hatred. She says that he could repeat all the exploits of Theseus andcompares himself with Ariadne, as a result, it begins to seem to Hippolytus that Phaedra takes him for Theseus. In the end, Phaedra confesses her love to him and asks Hippolytus to kill her. With that, she draws his sword.

Hippolite hears Theramenes approaching and runs away in horror. He does not dare to tell his mentor that terrible secret that has just been revealed to him. Theramenes, in turn, informs Hippolytus of the latest news: the Athenians have chosen the son of Phaedra as the new king. Also, according to rumors, Theseus is still alive and in Epirus.

Conspiracy of Phaedra and Oenone

Let's consider the third act, phenomena 1-3. Phaedra does not want power, does not want to be the queen of Athens, because her thoughts are about something completely different. She does not lose hope for a reciprocal feeling. In her opinion, someone must sooner or later awaken love in Hippolyta. Phaedra is ready to give him power over Athens.

Oenona brings unexpected news: Theseus is alive and has already arrived in Troezen. Phaedra is horrified, for Hippolytus can betray her secret at any moment. She again begins to see in death the only salvation, and only fear for the fate of her sons stops her.

Enona comes to the rescue: the nurse promises to slander Hippolytus in front of Theseus, telling him that it was his son who desired Phaedra. Stepmother has no choice but to agree with Enona's plan.

The Return of Theseus

In Apparition 4-6, Theseus, Hippolytus and Theramenes appear. Theseus wants to warmly embrace his wife, but she rejects him. Phaedra tells her husband that she is not worthy of his love. With these words, she leaves, leavinghusband is confused. He asks Hippolytus, but the prince does not reveal Phaedra's secret. He invites his father to ask his wife about it. In addition, Hippolyte declares his intention to leave Troezen. He does not want to live under the same roof with Phaedra and asks his father to let him leave. Hippolytus reminds his father that at his age, Theseus had already killed many monsters and visited many places, while the young man himself had not yet even caught up with his mother.

Theseus does not understand what is happening. Is this how you should meet your husbands and fathers? His family is clearly hiding something from him. He leaves hoping to get Phaedra to clarify.

The expulsion of Hippolytus

In the fourth act Oenon slanders Hippolytus, and Theseus believes her. He saw how his son was suspiciously embarrassed in conversation with him. Theseus is angry. The only thing he doesn't understand is why Phaedra didn't tell him the truth herself.

Theseus expels his son and turns to Poseidon himself with a request to punish Hippolytus. Poseidon promised to fulfill his first request, so he will not be able to refuse him.

Hippolit is so shocked by these accusations that he simply cannot find words. He only confesses his love for Arikiya, but his father does not believe him.

Meanwhile, Phaedra is tormented by remorse. She comes to Theseus and asks her husband to soften to Hippolytus. In conversation, her husband mentions that his son is supposedly in love with Arikia. Phaedra, unlike her husband, believes in this and now feels offended. Once again, the queen decides to die.

Decoupling

In the fifth act, Hippolyte decides to run away, but before that, to marry Arikia. Immediately after his departure, Theseus unexpectedly comes to Arikia. The Athenian king is trying to convince her that Hippolytus is a deceiver, and it was not worth listening to him. But Arikia defends his son so zealously that Theseus begins to doubt. Does he know the whole truth?

Theseus decides to interrogate Enone, but she is no longer alive: the woman drowned herself after Phaedra drove her away. The queen herself is on the verge of insanity. Then Theseus orders to return his son to him and appeals to Poseidon not to fulfill his request.

It's too late. Theramenes reports that Hippolytus died in a fight with a monster that attacked him from the sea waters. Theseus can only blame Phaedra for everything. And she does not deny her guilt. She manages to tell her husband the whole truth before dying from the poison she had previously taken.

Stricken with grief, Theseus vows to honor the memory of Hippolytus and continue to treat Arikia as his own daughter.

This is the summary. Phaedra is one of the greatest plays to read in its entirety one day.