Unstable Statuses in Euripides' Andromache

Abstract

The thesis argues for a reading of Euripides’ Andromache that focuses on the statuses of the characters – their roles within the oikos – and their instability. The scholarship on this play focuses on its differences from other surviving plays and, based on an ancient hypothesis calling it a “second-rate play,” it has acquired a negative reputation. The goal of the thesis is not to defend the work and salvage its reputation but to provide a reading which responds to some of the criticism and offers a new analysis. The chapters are divided according to the gender of the characters with the first one examining the male characters, Neoptolemus, Menelaus, Peleus, and Orestes and the next two focusing on Andromache, including her child, and Hermione separately. The exploration of these characters is connected to their own relationship to Neoptolemus’ oikos. It is the actions of men that define the statuses of the female characters in this play and Euripides depicts the men’s roles as less questionable. Because the statuses of Andromache and Hermione are the most unstable a full chapter is required for both. The analysis of the characters is based on their interactions with other characters within the play and at times includes an exploration of how the characters relate to the works of other tragedians and political works in fifth century BCE Athens. By reading the play with this specific focus, the actions of the characters suggest a distinctive portrayal by Euripides which can correlate with social issues in Athens at the time of the play’s production (c.428-425 BCE). A new reading of this play explains its unique composition and adds another way Euripides may have been influenced by Athenian politics and his interpretation of a problem in the relationship between the polis and the oikos.