Phèdre

Phèdre is a tragedy by the French dramatist Jean Racine (1639-1699), first performed in 1677. The tragedy retells a story from Greek mythology about the Athenian queen Phaedra’s love for her stepson, Hippolytus, and the terrible consequences of this love. Drawing on ancient tragedies by Euripides and Seneca, Racine’s treatment of the myth explores the themes of Forbidden Love and Desire, The Relationship Between Heredity and Fate, and The Importance of Honor and Duty. Though initially unsuccessful, Phèdre has come to be regarded as one of Racine’s most important plays, inspiring numerous performances, adaptations, and translations.

This study guide uses Kenneth Muir’s 1960 translation of the play from the 8th edition of Racine: Phaedra, Andromache, Berenice, Athaliah, Britannicus, published by Hill and Wang.

Content Warning: The source material of this study guide features death by suicide and contains discussions about sexual violence. This guide includes language and concepts from the source material that may be considered outdated, such as “servant,” “virgin,” “victim,” and “mistress.” When possible, the language is either altered or quoted.

Plot Summary

The play is set at Troezen, at the house of the Athenian king Theseus. Act I begins with Hippolytus, Theseus’s son from one of his early affairs, telling his tutor Theramenes of his plans to leave Troezen in search of his father, who has been absent for six months. He admits that in leaving Troezen he also hopes to cure himself of his forbidden love for Aricia, sentenced to a life of celibacy after Theseus wiped out the rest of her family.

As Hippolytus and Theramenes exit, Phaedra enters with her nurse and confidante, Oenone. Phaedra has long been suffering from a mysterious condition that manifests itself in periodic raving fits. Pressed by Oenone, Phaedra finally confesses the cause: She is in love with her stepson Hippolytus, but would rather die than dishonor herself by acting on her feelings. However, when the domestic worker Panope comes to announce that Theseus is dead and the succession is now in dispute, Oenone advises Phaedra to take advantage of her love for her stepson by making an alliance with him to preserve her young son’s claim to the throne.

Act II begins with a conversation between Aricia and her servant Ismene. Aricia reveals to Ismene that she is in love with Hippolytus. Hippolytus soon arrives to tell Aricia that, with Theseus dead, she will no longer be bound by her punishment, and declares his own love for her. Phaedra arrives with Oenone to speak with Hippolytus about the royal claim of her son, but as she becomes overcome by emotion, she finally confesses to Hippolytus that she is in love with him. Hippolytus is horrified. Phaedra, rejected, takes Hippolytus’s sword and is on the verge of using it to end her life when Theramenes enters with the news that Theseus may not be dead after all.

Act III begins with the desperate Phaedra sending Oenone to ask Hippolytus to make an alliance with her to share the throne: His response, she decides, will determine her fate. Oenone promptly returns with the surprising news that Theseus is alive and has returned. Oenone urges Phaedra to adopt a new plan to avoid being dishonored when her feelings for Hippolytus are revealed, fabricating a story that Hippolytus forcefully assaulted her. Phaedra agrees to Oenone’s plan. Theseus, meanwhile, is disappointed by how coldly Phaedra and Hippolytus welcome him, each of them anxious about their own secret loves.

In Act IV, Oenone has told Theseus that Hippolytus has attempted to violate Phaedra by force, presenting Hippolytus’s sword—left behind by him in Act II—as proof. Theseus, furious, banishes Hippolytus and asks the god Neptune to bring about his death. When Theseus confronts him, Hippolytus protests that he is innocent but does not betray Phaedra’s secret. He admits that he is in love with Aricia, not Phaedra, but Theseus does not believe him. Hippolytus departs into exile. Phaedra, finding out what has happened and fearing that Hippolytus will die because of her actions, goes to Theseus to tell him the truth. However, when she learns of Hippolytus’s love for Aricia, she is so consumed by jealousy that she breaks off her defense of Hippolytus and decides to leave him to his fate. She then turns on Oenone, blaming her for what has happened and banishing her.

In Act V, the final Act, Hippolytus says goodbye to Aricia after promising to marry her. Theseus, meanwhile, begins to have doubts, and decides to question Oenone, but Oenone has already died by suicide. Theramenes arrives with news that Hippolytus is dead: While he was riding his chariot along the coast, a monster emerged from the waves, terrifying Hippolytus’s horses and causing them to trample him. Phaedra storms in and confesses the truth to Theseus before succumbing to a poison she has consumed to end her life. Theseus, regretting his hasty judgment, adopts Aricia as his daughter as an act of atonement.