In this poignant scene from Racine's Andromaque, the titular character is torn between her love for her son Astyanax and her fidelity to her deceased husband Hector. As she navigates this inner struggle, her confidante Céphise urges her to accept the marriage proposal of King Pyrrhus, who promises to spare her son's life in exchange for her hand in marriage. This thought-provoking drama raises important questions about the nature of love, loyalty, and sacrifice, and invites the reader to consider the complexities of Andromaque's situation.
Extract
[...] It is a cruel inner struggle between a mother's love for her child and the fidelity to a deceased husband that is depicted. Andromaque considers Pyrrhus as the Greek enemy, and one of the main responsible for the Trojan War, who took away her husband. In her great pain, she does not realize that he feels sincere love for her, feelings that are corroborated by the deal he proposes to her, since it constitutes a betrayal of his own camp. [...]
[...] Andromaque must also consider that her son is the living image of her husband, who remains present in her heart and memory. I therefore join the position of Céphise and her arguments that try to convince Andromaque to save her son by accepting to marry Pyrrhus. Finally, letting Astyanax run the risk of death, out of loyalty to Hector, would make Andromaque a criminal in my eyes, since Hector is deceased. Although she is a faithful and inconsolable widow, it seems to me quite conceivable and salutary that she marries Pyrrhus for the survival of her child. [...]
[...] In fact, the decisions made by a king are, most of the time, dictated by the responsibilities that weigh on him, and not by his own will. One of Céphise's arguments is that Hector would have approved of this marriage to save his son. Loving parents cannot accept the death of their child, it is unnatural to see their offspring die before them; this is also one of Andromaque's arguments, who cannot bring herself to see a second loved one perish before her eyes, and even though she could have prevented it by her marriage. [...]
[...] Express your point of view in an argued paragraph. The Dilemma It is a matter of understanding the crisis that Andromaque is going through. In fact, after the capture of Troy, the Greeks demand from King Pyrrhus the widow of Prince Hector and their son Astyanax, in order to prevent the latter from trying to avenge his father one day. Pyrrhus, who is in love with his captive, hesitates to agree to their demands. Faced with her refusal of his advances, he resorts to blackmail: he will hand over his son to the Greeks if she does not agree to marry him. [...]
