Canace Misunderstood

Scholars are in agreement that Euripides' Aeolus is the source for the XIth epistle of the Heroides. Until the publication of the hypothesis of this tragedy in 1961, Aeolus was known to us only from a few fragments and some remarks by ancient authors. Though, however, some scholars, bearing in mind the hypothesis, made comparative studies on Euripides' play and Ovid's the results of their studies seem to have been underestimated or even completely neglected by others who later wrote on Ovid's Heroides XI. F. Verducci1), for example, disconnects the Latin poem from its literary tradition and supports the assumption that the letter unfolds a story of (this idea is pervading the relevant chapter in her book) and that Canace is punished for her incest. For F. Spoth2) too, who favours Verducci's general interpretation of Canace's attitude, Canace's epistle is a letter of pathologischer Erotik; he further holds that das Pathologische des Inzests, among other factors, has compromised Canace's elegiac role. Such interpretations are indebted to extra-textual factors, namely to the critic's ethical notions towards the sensitive theme of incest3). In this paper I intend to show that Heroides XI is not an incest poem, that Ovid treats Canace's liaison with her brother Macareus as if it were a normal love affair, and that he presents the tragic denouement as the outcome of misfortune and not of moral devia

Art · Brother · Elegiac · Interpretation (philosophy · Linguistics · Literature · Misfortune · Poetry · Sociology · Theme (computing · Tragedy (event · Anthropology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Classical Antiquity Studies · Law in Society and Culture · Philosophy

• The Ovidian Heroine as Author

  Open Access•Laurel Fulkerson•Ovidian Heroine as Author•2005

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