Overview

Phèdre falls in love with her husband Thésée's son Hippolyte - and through her passion she dooms the young man, the woman (Princess Aricie), her husband, her nurse confidante OEnone (who drives the plot with her unwise advice to Phèdre), and ultimately herself (she takes poison after confessing her crime to Thésée).  Agony-themed stage plays reached their zenith with the masterful pen of French playwright, Jean Racine. Passion, wickedness, deceit, and conspiracy flowed like honey into the tragedy.