Hippolytus

In the second and third episodes of the play, the disastrous consequences of divine intervention in human affairs and of Phaedra’s unrequited (and unrequitable) love for Hippolytus begin to become apparent. This part of the play explores the complexities of human desires, the fragility of reputation, and the danger of harsh judgment. In the background, here as throughout the play, is the relationship between gods and mortals.

The second episode begins with the Nurse telling Hippolytus about Phaedra’s forbidden desire for him, invoking The Destructiveness of Love and Desire. This effort is doomed to failure: Hippolytus, who is committed to remaining sexually abstinent, responds to the Nurse’s revelation with shock and disgust. He goes beyond simply rejecting Phaedra to express, in a lengthy monologue, his hatred for all women, whom he describes as a “coin which men find counterfeit” (616) and “a curse” (627). The motif of the battle of the sexes is reflected in Phaedra’s contrasting view of female life, which to her is marred by suffering and unfair societal and familial expectations: “Bitter indeed is woman’s destiny” (669).

Hippolytus obviously disapproves of Phaedra’s feelings, but confirms that he will say nothing of the matter to his father because the Nurse made him swear an oath to keep quiet, and indeed Hippolytus’s earlier statement, “my tongue swore, but my mind was quite unpledged” (612)—a line much parodied by the comic poet Aristophanes—is clearly not meant earnestly. In a sense, then, it is really Hippolytus’s “piety” that saves Phaedra (656), speaking again to The Meaning of Honor. For Hippolytus, it is honorable to keep his word regardless of how much the situation disgusts him. The virtuous Hippolytus is thus contrasted with the lustful (if reputation-oriented) Phaedra and the practical and opportunistic Nurse. At the same time, however, Hippolytus is far from irreproachable: His devotion to Artemis is taken to an extreme, and by remaining sexually abstinent and unmarried he shirks societal expectations and duties to his family and community (not to mention the goddess Aphrodite).

The clash of the characters’ conflicting emotions is put on display in this part of the play. The Nurse breaks the promise she made to her mistress when she reveals the situation to Hippolytus, evidently believing this to be the only way to help her mistress. The Nurse thus shows herself willing to compromise conventional morals and social codes to help Phaedra, thereby revealing that she has no firm notion of The Meaning of Honor. Hippolytus is also torn between familial duty—the impulse to tell his father the truth about his wife—and his oath, which compels him to remain silent. In the end, Hippolytus piously observes his oath, even when doing so prevents him from effectively defending himself.

Phaedra, finally, is crushed by Hippolytus’s rejection, but is more than anything horrified at the prospect of having her reputation tarnished. It is with the aim of maintaining her reputation that she ends her life, leaving the damning tablet for Theseus to find. This plan alone, Phaedra concludes, will allow her to do this:

[P]ass on to my children after me

life with an uncontaminated name,

and myself profit by the present throw

of Fortune’s dice (717-19).

The consequences of Phaedra’s actions—themselves The Consequences of Divine Intervention through Aphrodite’s anger—reverberate throughout the rest of the play. When Theseus discovers the tablet in which Phaedra accused Hippolytus of rape, he immediately believes the accusations without seeking any evidence. His hasty judgment highlights the dangers of impulsiveness while also revealing something important about his character. In the confrontation between him and Hippolytus—an excellent example of the agon or debate scene in ancient Greek drama—the two interlocutors may as well be speaking in different languages. Theseus, in the grip of his rage, has already made up his mind on what the truth is, has indeed already condemned his son to death and exile before the debate even begins.

Hippolytus, meanwhile, has his own preconceived ideas about virtue and women that inform his stance, which are equally unwavering: Hippolytus hardly thinks that his purity needs to be defended, and his arrogant manner of responding to his father’s accusations serves only to further incense Theseus. Then there is Hippolytus’s privileged knowledge of the truth—that is, Phaedra’s desire for him—which he does not share with his father because of his oath. The inflexibility of both men makes finding the truth and reconciling impossible.

Theseus banishes Hippolytus, asking his father Poseidon to see that he is killed. There is dramatic irony in the scene: The audience knows what Theseus does not—namely, that Hippolytus is innocent of the crime. Since Theseus has Hippolytus punished unjustly, it is, in a sense, he who becomes the guilty party.