Et genitor in te totus. Les liens de parenté dans la Phèdre de Sénèque comme système d’antithèses

Abstract

All the tragedies of Seneca are a cause for thought – that often takes the form of an antithesis – on the family connections. It is possible to explain this tendency through the historical context in which the poet lives and through his relationships with the imperial power. In Phaedra these aspects of opposition seem to be particularly important for the structure of the tragedy: an abominable guilt weighs on Phaedra, because she is involved in the two most terrible crimes typical of Seneca’s tragedies: adultery and incest. In addition to this, the situation of conflict that grows between the mother’s side and the father’s side of the family of Phaedra and Hippolytus enriches and complicates the question. The different threads of the tragedy are related to this theme and they create some aspects of contrast and, at the same time, of continuity, which are very significant on several levels of interpretation.

Keywords

• Tragedies
• Phaedra
• family connections
• antithesis
• genus