PHAEDRA

by June Rachuy Brindel ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 22, 1985

This sequel to Ariadne (1980) describes the exploits of Theseus after his conquest of Crete--but from the ambiguous perspective of his hostage Phaedra, the matriarch/goddess of her people now that her sister Ariadne is dead. In Brindel's feminist revision of the myth, Theseus' ""heroism"" leads him to increasingly barbaric violence, while Phaedra's calm absorption of his insults (since she is the living token of a religion that worships reproduction, she cannot fight back) ensures her spiritual integrity despite her political captivity. Aissa, the Greek narrator, is captured in her youth by Cretans and assigned to dance in the Cretan bull ceremonies, where she is twice championed by her fellow-hostage, Prince Theseus of Athens. When Crete finally falls to Theseus, he entrusts Aissa with the care of 10-year-old Phaedra, now the exiled Queen of Crete. The growing bond between Phaedra and her new companion (who was reared in the now-unfashionable cult of The Mother) soon weakens Aissa's ties to Theseus, whose victims now include Aissa's mother--as well as his own. When the captive Phaedra eventually bears Theseus two children, their fate is different from that described in the traditional (i.e., patriarchal, pro-Theseus) myth, and throughout her brief, pro-woman life, Phaedra refuses to involve herself in the political maneuverings of the Athenians--most of which involve strategic assassination. As she tells the increasingly militant Aissa, any commitment to violence might truly kill The Mother, whereas Theseus' tryanny has only driven Her worship underground. Brindel disdains the usual methods of the historical novelist: given little straight exposition or scenic description, a reader is oriented to this ancient setting only by Aissa's dour, evocative, archaic flow of thoughts and responses. The feminist ideology here, while an intriguing commentary on the Theseus myth, is finally less compelling than some fleeting but remarkable images and vignettes: the suicide of Theseus' father; the death in childbirth of a deformed priestess; the display of frail, bejeweled Phaedra in her Cretan finery to the bearded, armored soldiers of Athens. Ultimately, a book that's stronger as a brooding sketch than as a coherent polemic.

Pub Date: July 22, 1985

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1985

Categories: FICTION