Playing The Other By Euripide Analysis

Greek drama shows many instances of female sexuality and the negative connotation associated with it. Through props and tone expressed in lines 190- 585 of Hippolytus, Euripides explicitly addresses the role of woman as an “anti-model” through Greek society’s strict expectations of female sexuality. When female sexuality is controlled, the ultimate goal of patriarchy will succeed in Greek society.
First and foremost, Froma Zeitlin introduces the idea of an “anti-model” in Playing the Other defined as an antagonist to males. The second scene entails Phaedra’s internal conflict with her sexual desires. The chorus wonders how “her husband let this happen” (line 294). Until the end of the play, Phaedra’s husband, Theseus, is “out of town”(line …show more content…
Phaedra expresses shame with the embarrassment and devastation brought by her sexual desires of her stepson, Hippolytus. Of course, by any standards of society, it is wrong to have desires for one’s stepson. The audience is introduced to Phaedra’s shame explicitly from the tone of her feelings. In this scene, Phaedra’s desires are described as a “disease” numerous times by herself and other women. First, Phaedra says she must “conceal [the] disease” (line 427) and “this disease [is] a disgrace” (line 440). The Nurse encourages this tone by stating she will “find some drug for this disease” (line 533). The descriptions for sexual desires are negative. “Concealing” means that Phaedra is embarrassed to show her feelings, ‘disgrace’ is a synonym for shame, and the ‘drugs’ the Nurse wants to use tells the audience that she wants to kill the disease that Phaedra carries. Clearly, Euripides hope to show how wrong Phaedra’s feelings are. Euripides makes it evident that shame is needed to police female sexuality up to social standards and …show more content…
Once unveiled, Phaedra’s shame intensifies. Phaedra cries to the Nurse, “put my veil back in place. Conceal me, please./ I’m ashamed of my words. Please, hide me./ My eyes are choking with tears distorted with shame” (lines 258-60). Quickly after, Phaedra is covered by the veil. This prop symbolizes the modesty for Phaedra. The reader notes the use of stage cues Euripides had during this portion of the play as veil is in place to hide emotions and facial expressions. This style parallels the idea that women “are open to affect and entry from outside, less easily controlled by intellectual and rational means” (Zeitlin 65-66). A woman who is outdoors, unveiled to society and filled with sexual desire is considered a threat to male power. The fact that this veil is removed for a few moments show the shame and uneasiness. Phaedra starts to lose her mind when the veil is taken off. Shame is not enough to keep her in