O espaço de conflito: casamento e poder nas tragédias de Lúcio Aneu Sêneca (século I d.C.)

Abstract

The present doctoral thesis aims to investigate marriage in three of Seneca's tragedies: Medea, Phaedra, and Agamemnon. The research seeks to understand marriage in these tragedies by examining its relationship with power, reason, and passions. To achieve this, the study conducts an analysis of the Latin lexicon to comprehend the philosopher's choices in the poetic genre and how they construct the concept of marriage within Seneca's worldview. Considering the fundamental importance of gender roles in understanding marriage from the Roman philosopher's perspective, the study focuses on the couples from the plays: Medea and Jason; Phaedra and Theseus; and, lastly, Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. Additionally, it is crucial to investigate the historical and philosophical elements that intersect with the research subject, such as Stoic ethics, which emphasize that all human actions should follow nature, as well as the concepts of reason and passion expressed through adultery, marital repudiation, intrafamilial crimes, ancestral repertoire, family legacies, modes of exercising power, desire, passion, moderation, order, and disorder. The research concludes that the portrayal of marriage in Seneca’s works is disordered because the actions of husbands and wives counter the natural order. For instance, the principle that the stronger/better should govern the weaker/lesser (i.e., husbands should lead their wives – duco uxorem) is often overturned. In this context, individual interests should not outweigh the common good, as this, in Seneca’s view, would represent a lack of control over sexual and emotional desires. Finally, the thesis addresses the question of whether there is an ethics of marriage in Seneca's tragedies. The answer is negative, as Seneca does not establish a specific system of guidelines for marriage. Instead, he incorporates it into the broader framework of precepts governing all social relationships.