“What is Hecuba to [me]?”: The Impossibility of Catharsis and Rupture of Representation in Marina Carr’s Hecuba

Ayşen Demir Kılıç

Article Details

“What is Hecuba to [me]?”: The Impossibility of Catharsis and Rupture of Representation in Marina Carr’s Hecuba

Authors:

Ayşen Demir Kılıç

Publisher:

Istanbul University

Main Topics:

İngiliz ve İrlanda Dili | Edebiyatı ve Kültürü

Journal:

Litera: Dil Edebiyat ve Kültür Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.34 Issue 2, pp.401-421

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

12/2024

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001340405

pISSN:

2602-2117

Keywords:

Abstract:

 Marina Carrs Hecuba 2015, an adaptation of Euripidess tragedy Hecuba 424 BC, resonates with Hamlets famous line What is Hecuba to him, or he to her? Shakespeare, 15992003, 2.2.511 for the contemporary spectator by arousing pain and guilt instead of a cathartic effect. In the adaptation, Carr portrays a different presentation of the Queen of Troy from her representations in several classical texts. Contrary to the classical picture of a vengeful mad queen, she retells the untold story of the tragic queen and reveals Hecubas sorrow, pain, love for her children, and the vulnerability of a woman who is surviving a war. In Hecuba, Carr manages to build an ethical encounter between Hecuba and both Agamemnon and the spectator. In doing so, she breaks the representation by applying experimental theatrical devices that disturb the spectator in their comfort zone and subvert the cathartic effect. The play leaves the spectator with the burden of heavy pain and responsibility for the Other. In this respect, this article discusses the impossibility of the purgation of feeling in contemporary theatre through a Levinasian ethical approach in relation to the Other in Marina Carrs Hecuba.

 Marina Carrs Hecuba 2015, an adaptation of Euripidess tragedy Hecuba 424 BC, resonates with Hamlets famous line What is Hecuba to him, or he to her? Shakespeare, 15992003, 2.2.511 for the contemporary spectator by arousing pain and guilt instead of a cathartic effect. In the adaptation, Carr portrays a different presentation of the Queen of Troy from her representations in several classical texts. Contrary to the classical picture of a vengeful mad queen, she retells the untold story of the tragic queen and reveals Hecubas sorrow, pain, love for her children, and the vulnerability of a woman who is surviving a war. In Hecuba, Carr manages to build an ethical encounter between Hecuba and both Agamemnon and the spectator. In doing so, she breaks the representation by applying experimental theatrical devices that disturb the spectator in their comfort zone and subvert the cathartic effect. The play leaves the spectator with the burden of heavy pain and responsibility for the Other. In this respect, this article discusses the impossibility of the purgation of feeling in contemporary theatre through a Levinasian ethical approach in relation to the Other in Marina Carrs Hecuba.

 Marina Carrs Hecuba 2015, an adaptation of Euripidess tragedy Hecuba 424 BC, resonates with Hamlets famous line What is Hecuba to him, or he to her? Shakespeare, 15992003, 2.2.511 for the contemporary spectator by arousing pain and guilt instead of a cathartic effect. In the adaptation, Carr portrays a different presentation of the Queen of Troy from her representations in several classical texts. Contrary to the classical picture of a vengeful mad queen, she retells the untold story of the tragic queen and reveals Hecubas sorrow, pain, love for her children, and the vulnerability of a woman who is surviving a war. In Hecuba, Carr manages to build an ethical encounter between Hecuba and both Agamemnon and the spectator. In doing so, she breaks the representation by applying experimental theatrical devices that disturb the spectator in their comfort zone and subvert the cathartic effect. The play leaves the spectator with the burden of heavy pain and responsibility for the Other. In this respect, this article discusses the impossibility of the purgation of feeling in contemporary theatre through a Levinasian ethical approach in relation to the Other in Marina Carrs Hecuba.

 Marina Carrs Hecuba 2015, an adaptation of Euripidess tragedy Hecuba 424 BC, resonates with Hamlets famous line What is Hecuba to him, or he to her? Shakespeare, 15992003, 2.2.511 for the contemporary spectator by arousing pain and guilt instead of a cathartic effect. In the adaptation, Carr portrays a different presentation of the Queen of Troy from her representations in several classical texts. Contrary to the classical picture of a vengeful mad queen, she retells the untold story of the tragic queen and reveals Hecubas sorrow, pain, love for her children, and the vulnerability of a woman who is surviving a war. In Hecuba, Carr manages to build an ethical encounter between Hecuba and both Agamemnon and the spectator. In doing so, she breaks the representation by applying experimental theatrical devices that disturb the spectator in their comfort zone and subvert the cathartic effect. The play leaves the spectator with the burden of heavy pain and responsibility for the Other. In this respect, this article discusses the impossibility of the purgation of feeling in contemporary theatre through a Levinasian ethical approach in relation to the Other in Marina Carrs Hecuba.

Article Details

“What is Hecuba to [me]?”: The Impossibility of Catharsis and Rupture of Representation in Marina Carr’s Hecuba

Authors:

Ayşen Demir Kılıç

Publisher:

Istanbul University

Main Topics:

İngiliz ve İrlanda Dili | Edebiyatı ve Kültürü

Journal:

Litera: Dil Edebiyat ve Kültür Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.34 Issue 2, pp.401-421

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

12/2024

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001340405

pISSN:

2602-2117

Marina Carr

Euripides

Hecuba

Levinas

Ethics

Issues

Article Details

“What is Hecuba to [me]?”: The Impossibility of Catharsis and Rupture of Representation in Marina Carr’s Hecuba

Authors: Ayşen Demir Kılıç

Publisher: Istanbul University

Main Topics: İngiliz ve İrlanda Dili | Edebiyatı ve Kültürü

Journal: Litera: Dil Edebiyat ve Kültür Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.34 Issue 2, pp.401-421

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 12/2024

Document Language: English

Document ID (Org No.): 2001340405

pISSN: 2602-2117

Marina Carr

Euripides

Hecuba

Levinas

Ethics

Issues

Authors:

Ayşen Demir Kılıç

Publisher:

Istanbul University

Main Topics:

İngiliz ve İrlanda Dili | Edebiyatı ve Kültürü

Journal:

Litera: Dil Edebiyat ve Kültür Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.34 Issue 2, pp.401-421

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

12/2024

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001340405

pISSN:

2602-2117