Ben Smith U6JMB

How far do you sympathise with the Nurse and Phaedra in Hippolytus?

I sympathise with the Nurse because her frustrations over Phaedras behaviour
are justified. Phaedra refuses to cooperate and hides her trouble; she does not
admit that she is sick. The nurses view on nature and the cause of Phaedras
misfortune, is that moderation is better than excess (Phaedras feelings are going
over-board leading her mind to wander astray). This view would create
sympathy for the Nurse, who is doing her job, from a Greek audience, because
the words above the temple in Delphi mean Nothing in excess. I also sympathise
with the Nurse because of how hard she works to get the truth out of her
mistress, she begs Phaedra to tell the truth, using an act of supplication by
clasping her hands and knees.

But there are moments in which she herself does not come across as sympathetic
towards Phaedra and so it is very hard for me to feel sympathy for the nurse. She
plays her suffering down, by telling Phaedra that what she has suffered is
nothing remarkable. The nurse is rather ambiguous as to what she has in mind
for Phaedra, meaning there is uncertainty over whether she means for Phaedra
to remove her feelings for Hippolytus or to fulfil the desire. This ambiguity is
very significant, because if Phaedra follows the latter it could be very disastrous.

The issue over the nurses status is an interesting one, to some extent it makes
me feel sympathetic to her because she is trying to offer advice to Phaedra, who
could reject it on the grounds that she is her social inferior.

The nurse broke her promise to Phaedra when she assured her that she wouldnt
say anything to Hippolytus and would find her a cure. Hence she loses some of
my sympathy as opposed to Phaedra, who I am inclined to feel more sympathetic
to. The only person that she confided in betrayed Phaedra, and so I sympathise
very much with her. She then only accepts wrongdoing because her plan didnt
have a positive outcome and it is evident that she doesnt have clear moral
principles and yet believes in pleasure.

On the other hand I feel sympathy for Phaedra because, as we discover in the
opening of the play she is under the curse of Aphrodite, so that she must fall in
love with her stepson Hippolytus. Hence I feel sorry for the Queen, because her
falling in love, is causing herself torment because she has no choice but to love
Hippolytus. Aphrodite remarks: To the lady Phaedra I grant a death that saves
her honour, yet she must die: which emphasises that this is all so the goddess
may exact her revenge on Hippolytus, we sympathise with Phaedra because she
is merely a victim in Aphrodites game and now has to die because of the
goddesses jealousy issue with her stepson. The comment also highlights
Phaedras observance of the ancient virtue of honour. Phaedra has a great
concern for her reputation and fears bringing disgrace on her children, yet she is
in a tragic double bind, because of her attraction to her stepson. If she doesnt
talk about her feelings, then it will fester and she will feel worse. However, if she
tells people about her feelings she will be shamed and her reputation in tatters.
Ben Smith U6JMB

But Phaedra loses some of my sympathy, to a degree when she asserts in so

dying I will prove deadly to anothers life, to teach him not to triumph over my
downfallthen he shall learn what restrain is. Her last act is one of revenge and
this vindictive nature, in my opinion, lets her down and damages her reputation.
Yet I also feel quite sympathetic, because no one should die in aid of revenge and
after she commits suicide, it is evident she has done so due to a petty issue of
jealousy.

There is also a question over how justifiable her reaction to the Nurse is. For a
woman so concerned about her reputation, she showed little restraint and thus
loses some of my sympathy, because she went along with the Nurses actions.

In conclusion I have greater sympathy for Phaedra, because as the wife of a King
not only does she have to maintain her own reputation but in doing so she has to
defend and maintain Theseus. She had to resort to the drastic measure of suicide
because she was in the agony of love, for the most part she had to endure the
pain alone and then when she did share what was wrong, she was betrayed by
the Nurse the one person she chose to confide in.