Commentary_Andromaque,_Acte_Iv,_Scène_Iv

Commentary 1356-1386 This passage is a reply of Hermione to Pyrrhus. Previously, he had realised that his decision to marry Andromaque was in no way sensible (“À moi-meme je devenais contraire”) and decided to, after all, marry Hermione. Hermione is flattered but once again deceived when Pyrrhus gives in to his feelings for Andromaque the second time. Pyrrhus comes to her to announce this which Hermione is already aware of. She has in fact persuaded Oreste to revenge her by killing Pyrrhus. Pyrrhus approaches Andromaque in an apologetic manner and takes her malignity towards him as a sign of indifference claiming that she can not love him since they have no relationship: “Nous fumes sans amour engagés l'un à l'autre”. Hermione has so far retained her self-control and replied in a sarcastic and harsh tone. At the beginning of this passage she seems to finally lose her temper and bursts out : “Je ne t'ai point aimé, cruel'”. She can no longer bear Pyrrhus' claim that she doesn't love him. She lists the sacrifices she had to make for him despite his infidelity. We also obtain the impression that she as a proud woman (“Il y va de ma gloire!”) is ashamed of her position, Pyrrhus being indifferent to her even though she ought to be made his wife. “Tu me rapporterais un coeur qui m'était du” - She clearly feels that what Pyrrhus is doing is wrong but at the same time takes love as the explanation for her previous behaviour (“Je t'aimais inconstant, qu'aurais-je fait fidèle'”). She even goes as far as to say his marriage to Andromaque will represent her own death. Having declared her love she still calls him “ingrate” and “cruel” which reflects the basic principle of love in Racine: It is closely related to hatred. She confesses that despite this it is still doubtful whether she loves him. This is a remarkable attitude and illustrates the difference in character between Hermione and Oreste. She is a proud woman who is in no need to beg a man to love her as opposed to Oreste and even Pyrrhus who seem to sometimes forget about their dignity. Hermione however expresses a slight hope that he may still change his mind in line 1373-1374. When Pyrrhus remains silent she recollects herself and resigns. She accepts the marriage and now talks to him with deep contempt and bitterly encourages him to return to that Trojan woman of his and makes clear that she herself should be in Andromaque's place. Finally she mentions the gods and addresses his guilty conscience: They will judge him on his immoral behaviour. She ends her speech with a threat: She tells him to go ahead but still fear for Hermione (the reader knows about her revenge plans). This passage is significant to the whole play as it shows Hermione in a different light, she who had previously been portrayed as cold, proud, evil here reveals her scorned dignity. For the first time she is shown as vulnerable and she herself recognises the lack of reason in her love to Pyrrhus. Her deep deception adds significantly to the dramaturgy of the scene even though she quickly returns to her normal arrogant self. It is important for the next act as it sets the scene for her vengeance, Pyrrhus indifference towards her and his assumption that she doesn't love him seems to frustrate her to the point that it justifies the killing of Pyrrhus. It also provides the reader with a deeper understanding of her character, her anger towards Oreste after he kills Pyrrhus and her own suicide in the dénouement of the play. Racine uses language effectively to convey the desperation and confusion of Hermione in this passage. He begins it with an anophora of 8 almost consecutive lines beginning with “je” to convey her frustration. The caesura in the first line makes her outcry one of despair and anger. In line 1359 she says “malgré tes infidélités” and picks up “malgré” again in the subsequent line: “malgré tous mes Grecs honteux de mes bontés”. This strongly points out the irrationality of her own behaviour and thus her all-consuming passion for Pyrrhus that outweights reason.