Jean Racine's Andromache
by Jean Racine

(Applause Books).

"Love?

What does love mean in this fearsome drama?

Not much that is affirmative.

Not much to heat the heart of a sentimental spectator.

It signifies a passion that amounts to illness, an alternately aching and frantic desire that cannot be slaked.

The three characters who love strive to conquer love by straining their will power to its elastic limits.

And what does loved mean here?

Not the ecstasy of glowing with selflessness and basking in another's affection, but a tormenting burden that cannot be shaken off, can only be readjusted to serve as an instrument of convenience or harm."

from the Afterword by Albert Bermel