Pain’s Echo: Lament and Revenge in Ovid’s “Procne and Philomela”
The article offers a reexamination of Ovid’s story of Philomela and Procne, with an emphasis on revenge and lament as two responses to acts of wrongdoing and loss. My analysis begins by exploring philosophical and psychoanalytic perspectives, mainly from Nietzsche and Freud, which are usually though...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Humanities |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/12/5/96 |
| _version_ | 1797626671167176704 |
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| author | Ilit Ferber |
| author_facet | Ilit Ferber |
| author_sort | Ilit Ferber |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The article offers a reexamination of Ovid’s story of Philomela and Procne, with an emphasis on revenge and lament as two responses to acts of wrongdoing and loss. My analysis begins by exploring philosophical and psychoanalytic perspectives, mainly from Nietzsche and Freud, which are usually thought of as complete opposites: revenge is considered active and violent, whereas lament is passive and paralyzed. However, upon revising Ovid’s tale of unimaginable suffering answered by both lament and revenge, I show that in Ovid’s story, they appear as interconnected and dependent on each other. Initially, Philomela appears as the passive, lamenting sister, while Procne appears as the angry, vengeful one. Nevertheless, as the narrative unfolds, the roles of the sisters change. Through the characters of Philomela and Procne, Ovid presents a compelling account in which these two responses can be seen as mirror images of the same phenomenon, rather than diametrically opposed binaries. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:14:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1d9e767d467746808699ca8783dd2073 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0787 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:14:28Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities |
| spelling | doaj.art-1d9e767d467746808699ca8783dd20732023-11-16T10:30:05ZengMDPI AGHumanities2076-07872023-09-011259610.3390/h12050096Pain’s Echo: Lament and Revenge in Ovid’s “Procne and Philomela”Ilit Ferber0Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, IsraelThe article offers a reexamination of Ovid’s story of Philomela and Procne, with an emphasis on revenge and lament as two responses to acts of wrongdoing and loss. My analysis begins by exploring philosophical and psychoanalytic perspectives, mainly from Nietzsche and Freud, which are usually thought of as complete opposites: revenge is considered active and violent, whereas lament is passive and paralyzed. However, upon revising Ovid’s tale of unimaginable suffering answered by both lament and revenge, I show that in Ovid’s story, they appear as interconnected and dependent on each other. Initially, Philomela appears as the passive, lamenting sister, while Procne appears as the angry, vengeful one. Nevertheless, as the narrative unfolds, the roles of the sisters change. Through the characters of Philomela and Procne, Ovid presents a compelling account in which these two responses can be seen as mirror images of the same phenomenon, rather than diametrically opposed binaries.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/12/5/96revengelamentOvidProcnePhilomelaecho |
| spellingShingle | Ilit Ferber Pain’s Echo: Lament and Revenge in Ovid’s “Procne and Philomela” Humanities revenge lament Ovid Procne Philomela echo |
| title | Pain’s Echo: Lament and Revenge in Ovid’s “Procne and Philomela” |
| title_full | Pain’s Echo: Lament and Revenge in Ovid’s “Procne and Philomela” |
| title_fullStr | Pain’s Echo: Lament and Revenge in Ovid’s “Procne and Philomela” |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pain’s Echo: Lament and Revenge in Ovid’s “Procne and Philomela” |
| title_short | Pain’s Echo: Lament and Revenge in Ovid’s “Procne and Philomela” |
| title_sort | pain s echo lament and revenge in ovid s procne and philomela |
| topic | revenge lament Ovid Procne Philomela echo |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/12/5/96 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ilitferber painsecholamentandrevengeinovidsprocneandphilomela |