Phèdre (English spelling)

A five-act verse tragedy by the French dramatist Racine. First performed in 1677. During the absence of King Thézé of Athens, the king's second wife Phèdre is tormented by her illicit love for Hippolyte, the son of her first wife, and confesses this to her nurse, Hainone. When a false report of Thézé's death spreads, the prince courts Alicée, the daughter of the former king whom his father had destroyed and who is now a prisoner, and the princess reciprocates his love. The queen meets the prince to plead for her child's safety, but is consumed with passion and reveals her true feelings. She curses her fate, saying, "Did you really want me to make such an embarrassing confession?" and attempts suicide. Then Thézé returns alive, and at the nurse's urging, the queen pretends that the prince had committed the act of adultery. The king banishes the prince, who refuses to explain himself, by placing a curse on the sea god. The queen, knowing the prince's feelings, is so angry that the nurse jumps into the sea, and the prince is killed by a sea demon. The queen confesses her crime and drinks poison. This masterpiece, with its rich metaphor and rhyme, depicts the inner and outer light and darkness of humans who perish from their fated passions. Due to a conspiracy among some nobles, this work became a competition with the second-rate poet Nicolas Pradon (1632-98) for a work on the same theme. This work marked the retirement of the author Racine from the theatrical world.

[Takashi Iwase]

"Phèdre" translated by Taku Naito (Iwanami Bunko)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの劇詩人ラシーヌの五幕韻文悲劇。1677年初演。アテナイ（アテネ）王テゼの留守中、王の後妻フェードルは先妻の息子イポリットへの不倫の恋に苦しみ、乳母(うば)エノーヌに打ち明ける。テゼの死の誤報が伝わり、王子は父が滅ぼした先王の娘で虜囚のアリシーに求愛し、姫も愛に報いる。王妃はわが子の安全を訴えるため王子に会うが、情念に灼(や)かれて真情を漏らし、「こんな恥ずかしい告白を、望んでしたとお思いか」と運命を呪(のろ)い、自殺を図る。そこへテゼが生還し、王妃は乳母の勧めで、王子が不倫を仕掛けたように装う。王は弁解しない王子に海神の呪いをかけて追放する。王子の心を知った王妃の怒りで乳母は投身し、王子は海魔に殺される。王妃は罪を告白して毒を仰ぐ。宿命的な情念に滅びる人間の内外の光と闇(やみ)を、暗喩(あんゆ)と諧調(かいちょう)に富む韻文で描いた名作。一部貴族の陰謀で二流詩人プラドンNicolas Pradon（1632―98）と同一主題の競作となった。作者ラシーヌはこの作で劇界を引退。

［岩瀬　孝］

『内藤濯訳『フェードル』（岩波文庫）』

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