“Phaedra” as a Tragedy of Unrequited Love
Phaedra is a notable literary work by Lucius Annaeus Seneca. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, to various questions of Phaedra.
Answer
Consider “Phaedra” as a tragedy of unrequited love.
Love that is not normal is called exceptional and unrequited love. Seneca (4 BC-AD 65), in his tragedy “Phaedra” (290 AD), has shown that love is fundamental, but the illicit and wrong desirable love cannot be accepted. The play’s central theme lies in Phaedra’s forbidden passion for her stepson, Hippolytus. It illustrates unrequited love leads to despair, deceit, and destruction. The play masterfully captures “Phaedra” as a tragedy of unrequited love.
Phaedra’s Destructive Passion: Phaedra’s love for Hippolytus is intense and uncontrollable. It is a curse passed down from her mother, Pasiphae, who fell in love with a bull. Phaedra herself admits,
A malady feeds and grows within my heart, and it burns there hot as the stream that wells from Aetna’s caverns.
Hippolytus does not return her passion, which makes her love tragic. Phaedra’s unfulfilled desire becomes a source of inner torment that drives her to desperation and despair.
Hippolytus’s Rejection: Hippolytus is known for his hatred of women and preference for the wilderness. When Phaedra confesses her feelings to Hippolytus, he reacts with disgust and anger and rejects her. He exclaims,
Look thou! Am I fitted for adulteries? For such crime did I alone seem to thee an easy instrument?.
His harsh rejection deepens Phaedra’s agony, as her love is not only unreciprocated but is also met with scorn. This unreturned love intensifies the tragedy as Phaedra realizes her feelings are both hopeless and shameful.
The Role of Fate and the Gods: Phaedra views her unrequited love as a curse. The gods Venus, the goddess of love, beauty, sex, fertility, and victory, impose it. She seeks revenge on Phaedra’s family because Apollo (an ancestor of Phaedra) exposed her affair with Mars. The chorus reflects the gods are not immune to the power of love. It is noted that,
If the goddess of chastity can fall victim to Cupid’s arrows, then anyone can.
This sense of inevitability highlights the tragedy that Phaedra was destroyed by forces that were beyond her control. Her unrequited love is portrayed as an inevitable destiny that leads her to ruin.
Phaedra’s Desperation and Deceit: Phaedra, to win Hippolytus’s affection, conspires with her nurse and falsely accuses Hippolytus of attempting to rape her. Nurse says,
We must throw the crime back on him himself, and ourselves charge him with incestuous love. Crime must be concealed by crime.
The quote refers to Hippolytus’s death, which is a result of Pahrdras’s deception for unrequited love. Finally, the desire for unreturned love leads her to fatal consequences.
Phaedra’s Guilt and Tragic End: After Hippolytus dies, Phaedra is consumed by guilt. Realizing that she is responsible for all the suffering, she confesses the truth and takes her own life, saying,
My impious breast is bare to the sword of justice, and my blood makes atonement to a guiltless man.
Her confession highlights the tragedy of an unrequited love that brought destruction, guilt, and sorrow.
In short, Phaedra is an influential tragedy of unrequited love. It highlights unchecked passion, which leads to inevitable disaster. Phaedra’s love for Hippolytus, marked by rejection and deceit, becomes a curse that ruins multiple lives. Through Phaedra’s suffering, Seneca masterfully demonstrates the destructive power of unreturned love, making it a central element of this timeless tragedy.