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A Brief Note on Racine and Moliere

Jean Racine, born in 1639, was orphaned when young and raised by his grandmother who enrolled him in a convent school. The convent monks who were Racine’s teachers provided him with a good education, particularly in the Latin and Greek classics.

 Later in life, Racine took to the theater, writing several plays, and eventually was befriended by Moliere. Unfortunately Racine had a habit of seducing young actresses, and his eyes fell upon Moliere’s leading actress, Thérèse du Parc, whom he seduced and convinced to leave Moliere's troupe.

 Molière, who had financially supported one of Racine’s plays even when the production was losing money, was deeply hurt by this betrayal and never spoke to Racine again.

 By 1677 Racine had achieved remarkable success for a playwright. In fact he was the first French playwright to live almost entirely off the earnings from his plays. And the role of Phedre was so popular that it quickly became the most coveted role of  practically every French tragedienne.

Notes on Racine's Phaedra

All notes owe credit to The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, Seventh Edition, Volume 2

Who's Who and What's What in the Play:

The action takes place in Troezen, a town in Greece near Athens--perhaps a country palace for the rulers.

Theseus is king, but he has been missing for six months.  He is well known for prowess in battle and conquests of women.

Hippolytus--Theseus's and Antiope's son--he wants to leave Troezen, supposedly to search for his father, but really to escape from his passion for Aricia.

Aricia--the only surviving member of the other royal family line.  Theseus killed her brothers when they attempted to steal the throne from him.  Aricia was left unharmed since she had no part in the plot.  However, she cannot marry or bear children because they might become a threat to Theseus's heirs.

Phaedra--Theseus's wife and Hippolytus's stepmother.  She was Theseus's captive and became his wife and queen.  She is sick and wasting away, supposedly because of her husband Theseus's absence, but really because she lusts secretly for Hippoytus and feels she can do nothing about it.

Oenone--Phaedra's nurse and advisor.  Her role is pivotal in the play's action.

Theramenes--Hippolytus's tutor.

Ismene--Aricia's confidante.

Scattered notes:

Phaedra was not meant to be a play about real life--the characters do not represent real people so much as points of view, behaviors, moral positions.

We are to look at and learn from the characters, evaluate their actions and positions--not try to identify with them or see them as attempts to accurately represent ourselves.

Sexuality (to the point of excess, passion, loss of control) lies at the heart of the play.  According to the play, sexuality appears to be the primary source of human vulnerability.

Consider each character and identify those who are controlled by and/or act out of sexual passion.

Consider that Racine wrote during The Enlightenment, sometimes referred to as the Age of Reason.  Though this historic period is very difficult to define, one of the many ideas that emerged was an endorsement of reason to control or counteract what were believed to be the destructive effects of passion.

Many believed that human beings were naturally vulnerable to emotional excess or passion, whether it be sexual, lust for power, violence, greed, retaliation. Left unchecked, this vulnerability could be personally and socially destructive.   Since emotional excess and self-interest were "natural"--parts of human nature--they could never be eradicated; therefore, the only alternative was to dampen or control these tendencies by employing logic or reason in human dealings.  Logic was thought to be more trustworthy, mathematical, and supportable--the opposite of and the counterweight to passion.

Racine uses sexuality and its tendency toward loss of control to show the effects of passion without reason or restraint.

Note, too, that Hippolytus is quite naive in believing that his virtue and innocence will win out.  This may be so in a world that is morally intact, but not in a world that is morally challenged or corrupt.