Series | Lexis Supplements
Edited book | METra 1
Chapter | Penelope e Deianira

Penelope e Deianira

Carattere e sentimenti di due eroine tra epica e tragedia

The essay explores the analogies between the two characters of Deianeira and Penelope in Homer and Sophocles. It investigates some common traits of the two heroines with respect to their existential situation and personality, namely age, grief, expectation, anxiety, loneliness, and resignation. Through the investigation, supported by a series of reworkings of epic idioms, of the imaginary of tears, of the wedding bed and of the night, Leitmotive which define the two female protagonists both in the Trachiniae and in the Odyssey, the essay highlights how Sophocles brings the Homeric symbolism of pain, life, love, and death to extreme and tragic consequences.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Submitted: March 15, 2022 | Accepted: May 10, 2022 | Published: Dec. 14, 2022 | Language: it

Keywords Trachiniae Sophocles Pain Death Homer Love Penelope Tears Deianeira Odyssey


read this chapter