Female roles in Euripidean tragedy. Language, performance, conceptions
<p>The thesis aims to offer a typology of the various ways in which tragic women conceptualize and perform their role in Euripidean tragedy, examining the wide range of female characters’ acts, attitudes, and languages as reflective of their role performances.</p> <p>The thesis co...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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2022
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| _version_ | 1797108362994778112 |
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| author | Ingretolli, F |
| author2 | Allan, W |
| author_facet | Allan, W Ingretolli, F |
| author_sort | Ingretolli, F |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <p>The thesis aims to offer a typology of the various ways in which tragic women conceptualize and perform their role in Euripidean tragedy, examining the wide range of female characters’ acts, attitudes, and languages as reflective of their role performances.</p>
<p>The thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter I focuses on the maternal attempt to persuade a son, taking Aethra in Suppliant Women and Jocasta in Phoenician Women as its main case studies. The aim of the chapter is twofold: first, it analyses the linguistic characterization of Aethra and Jocasta by using two modern linguistic approaches, namely politeness theory and speech-act theory; second, it considers how Aethra and Jocasta conceive of their private role as mothers in the face of the public demands placed on them by the civic community, using other maternal figures (Atossa in Aeschylus’ Persians, Praxithea in Euripides’ Erechtheus, and Clytemnestra in IA) as points of comparison.</p>
<p>While Chapter I focuses on the single role of mother, Chapter II investigates the way in which female characters negotiate the demands of different roles, paying particular attention to women holding simultaneously the roles of daughter and wife, and those of mother and wife. Two concepts prove crucial in my analysis of these negotiations, namely balance and conflict. By balance, I mean all those instances in which female characters perform one role to the benefit of another; when, that is, performing a given role helps to fulfil the demands of another. Conflict, on the other hand, refers to those situations in which the performance of two roles irremediably clashes, and where women are forced to choose which of these to prioritize.</p>
<p>Chapter III and IV shift to close readings of Andromache, Helen and Iphigenia in Tauris, three plays that showcase not only different roles from those explored in Chapter I and II, but also different forms of role playing. Chapter III explores the notions of role failure and role blurring, illustrating the ways in which Hermione fails to play the role of wife, and making the case that Andromache blurs the boundaries between her present role as concubine and her previous role as wife. Chapter IV investigates whether the often-remarked affinities between Helen and IT also reflect on the way Helen and Iphigenia perform their roles. Here I delve into Helen’s double identity as a real person and eidōlon, and I examine Iphigenia’s multiple roles as a virgin, priestess, and sister.</p>
<p>The thesis as a whole illuminates many novel aspects of tragic characterization, gender-specific language, and plot structure, provides fresh readings of individual plays and enhances our understanding of Euripides’ dramatic technique.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T07:28:09Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oxford-uuid:f1a6819f-90f3-4689-846e-599962a416fc |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T07:28:09Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:f1a6819f-90f3-4689-846e-599962a416fc2022-12-01T11:52:51ZFemale roles in Euripidean tragedy. Language, performance, conceptionsThesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06uuid:f1a6819f-90f3-4689-846e-599962a416fcLinguisticsClassical PhilologyAncient Greek LiteratureEnglishHyrax Deposit2022Ingretolli, FAllan, WVan Emde Boas, ERutherford, RMossman, J<p>The thesis aims to offer a typology of the various ways in which tragic women conceptualize and perform their role in Euripidean tragedy, examining the wide range of female characters’ acts, attitudes, and languages as reflective of their role performances.</p> <p>The thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter I focuses on the maternal attempt to persuade a son, taking Aethra in Suppliant Women and Jocasta in Phoenician Women as its main case studies. The aim of the chapter is twofold: first, it analyses the linguistic characterization of Aethra and Jocasta by using two modern linguistic approaches, namely politeness theory and speech-act theory; second, it considers how Aethra and Jocasta conceive of their private role as mothers in the face of the public demands placed on them by the civic community, using other maternal figures (Atossa in Aeschylus’ Persians, Praxithea in Euripides’ Erechtheus, and Clytemnestra in IA) as points of comparison.</p> <p>While Chapter I focuses on the single role of mother, Chapter II investigates the way in which female characters negotiate the demands of different roles, paying particular attention to women holding simultaneously the roles of daughter and wife, and those of mother and wife. Two concepts prove crucial in my analysis of these negotiations, namely balance and conflict. By balance, I mean all those instances in which female characters perform one role to the benefit of another; when, that is, performing a given role helps to fulfil the demands of another. Conflict, on the other hand, refers to those situations in which the performance of two roles irremediably clashes, and where women are forced to choose which of these to prioritize.</p> <p>Chapter III and IV shift to close readings of Andromache, Helen and Iphigenia in Tauris, three plays that showcase not only different roles from those explored in Chapter I and II, but also different forms of role playing. Chapter III explores the notions of role failure and role blurring, illustrating the ways in which Hermione fails to play the role of wife, and making the case that Andromache blurs the boundaries between her present role as concubine and her previous role as wife. Chapter IV investigates whether the often-remarked affinities between Helen and IT also reflect on the way Helen and Iphigenia perform their roles. Here I delve into Helen’s double identity as a real person and eidōlon, and I examine Iphigenia’s multiple roles as a virgin, priestess, and sister.</p> <p>The thesis as a whole illuminates many novel aspects of tragic characterization, gender-specific language, and plot structure, provides fresh readings of individual plays and enhances our understanding of Euripides’ dramatic technique.</p> |
| spellingShingle | Linguistics Classical Philology Ancient Greek Literature Ingretolli, F Female roles in Euripidean tragedy. Language, performance, conceptions |
| title | Female roles in Euripidean tragedy. Language, performance, conceptions |
| title_full | Female roles in Euripidean tragedy. Language, performance, conceptions |
| title_fullStr | Female roles in Euripidean tragedy. Language, performance, conceptions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Female roles in Euripidean tragedy. Language, performance, conceptions |
| title_short | Female roles in Euripidean tragedy. Language, performance, conceptions |
| title_sort | female roles in euripidean tragedy language performance conceptions |
| topic | Linguistics Classical Philology Ancient Greek Literature |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ingretollif femalerolesineuripideantragedylanguageperformanceconceptions |