Durham E-Theses Women, Heroines, Mothers: Motherhood in Ovid's Heroides MARTORANA, SIMONA How to cite: MARTORANA, SIMONA (2021) Women, Heroines, Mothers: Motherhood in Ovid's Heroides, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/13936/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk Women, Heroines, Mothers: Motherhood in Ovid’s Heroides Simona Martorana A thesis submitted for the qualification of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Classics and Ancient History Durham University 2021 Simona Martorana Abstract: Women, Heroines, Mothers: Motherhood in Ovid’s Heroides My thesis navigates the maternal experience in the Heroides, thereby resituating them within the most recent gender-based readings of Ovidian works, and Latin literature as a whole, as well as addressing works that deal with motherhood in the Roman world. Ovid’s elegiac epistles, which – almost uniquely in classical literature – give a subjective voice to female characters, offer a fertile ground of enquiry to broaden the scholarly debate on motherhood in Latin Literature, as well as contributing to discussions on gender-informed interpretations of Ovidian poetry. By building on a combination of a philological approach and gender theory, my thesis uncovers the subversive content of the Heroides, as well as leading us to appreciate their stylistic, thematic, and narratological peculiarities, including: a high degree of ambiguity; ironic discourse; interplay with previous sources; references to their contemporary context; polyphony; and the coexistence of literary genres. Chapter 1 (Her. 1) navigates Penelope’s relationship with Telemachus to show how motherhood serves the heroine’s appropriation of a central role within her household. Chapter 2 shows Phaedra’s self-empowerment in Her. 4, as well as Canace’s (re)appropriation of her maternal experience (Her. 11). Chapter 3 mainly draws from Butler’s gender performativity to explore Deianira (Her. 9), but also from Braidotti’s posthuman feminism to analyse Medea’s motherhood (Her. 12), which contributes to her self-construction as a female (posthuman) subject-in-becoming. Chapter 4 focuses on Hypsipyle’s and Dido’s letters (Her. 6 and 7) through the lens of Ettinger’s recent theorisations on the maternal body and narrative theory, respectively. My thesis demonstrates that the heroines’ motherhood enhances their self-empowerment and catalyses the gender-role reversals that feature in their epistles. By showing how these mothers express their independence, in ways that are perhaps subtle, ironic, and highly rhetorical, my thesis also engages with contemporary discussions about women’s leadership, maternity, and gender equality. Ph.D. Thesis Women, Heroines, Mothers: Motherhood in Ovid’s Heroides Department of Classics and Ancient History Simona Martorana First Supervisor: Prof. Jennifer Ingleheart Second Supervisor: Dr. Ioannis Ziogas Word Count (without Bibliography): 99.582 2020/2021 Table of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction I-XXX Chapter 1: A traditional matrona? Penelope between motherhood and heroism 1 1.1. Sources and context: the epic Penelope and ‘the distaff side’ 3 1.2. An Ovidian character: Penelope revisited 9 1.3. Mother or matrona: implications of motherhood 14 1.4. A struggle for heroism: who is the master of the house? 24 Conclusion 26 Chapter 2: Incest, rebellion and the ‘Law of the Mother’: Phaedra and Canace 27 2.1. Sources and context: Phaedra, storytelling and writing 29 2.2. (Ovid’s) Phaedra and the rejection of (step-)motherhood 38 2.3. Phaedra’s new perspective: the ‘Law of the Mother’ 53 2.4. Sibling relationships: story, background and main patterns of Her. 11 59 2.5. An ill-fated mother or an insolent daughter? 68 Conclusion 87 Chapter 3: ‘The name of the Mother’: abomination, mistake and revenge (Deianira and Medea) 90 3.1. (Ovid’s) Deianira: a response to the sources 92 3.2. Nomen est omen? Deianira, Omphale and the fall of a hero 100 3.3. Iole, Hyllus and Deianira: τὸ μητρὸς ὄνομα 114 3.4. Sources and context: Medea’s divided self 123 3.5. Nescio quid certe mens mea maius agit: becoming-Medea 129 3.5.1. The hero(ine) and the abandoned woman: gender and genre fluidity 131 3.5.2. Medea and becoming: motherhood, metamorphosis and autopoiesis 143 Deianira and Medea: motherhood as self-empowerment 157 Chapter 4: Motherhood, literary (pro-)creation and the birth of the text: Hypsipyle and Dido 159 4.1. Background and sources: Hypsipyle’s Medea 160 4.2. Hypsipyle (Jason and Medea): standing alone 167 4.3. The ‘Self’ and the ‘(M)Other’: encounters, borders and formation of subjectivity 178 4.4. Background and sources: “When Dido rewrites Vergil” 192 4.5. Ovid’s Dido: creation of the text, continuation of the story 201 4.5.1. The burden of the past: Dido’s (re)construction of reality 207 4.5.2. Control over the future: écriture feminine, pregnancy and the birth of the text 213 Conclusion: Hypsipyle and Dido as (M)others of the Text 225 Epilogue 227 Bibliography 232 The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the author’s prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. Acknowledgments The first and greatest thanks I wish to express are to my first supervisor, Jennifer Ingleheart, whose guidance and support have been crucial for the completion of this thesis. Her advice, the passion she puts into her work, and her continuous encouragement have substantiated my academic, intellectual, and personal growth at Durham. I owe a secondary thank you to my second supervisor, Ioannis Ziogas, who has supported me throughout the process with continuous advice and constructive criticism. My thesis would not have taken its current form without his help. Along with my supervisory team, I must thank several academics who have either read entire sections of my work or provided me with helpful suggestions through our (either remote or in-person) discussions: Alessandro Barchiesi, Sergio Casali, Sara Lindheim, Efi Spentzou, Mairéad McAuley, Alison Sharrock, Elena Giusti, and Amy Russell. A special mention is due to Roy Gibson, who has acted almost as an ‘adjunctive’ supervisor. My thesis was also significantly influenced by my stay at Harvard, where I entered into conversation with a vibrant and incredibly helpful community of scholars, among whom I should mention Richard Tarrant, Richard Thomas, Kathy Coleman, Jan Ziolkowski, and Naomi Weiss. Three other academic mentors of mine also deserve a mention: Caterina Mordeglia, Alice Bonandini, and Marco Formisano. Furthermore, it is impossible to describe how much the whole Department of Classics and Ancient History at Durham contributed to my development as a junior scholar, and how inspiring and beneficial my interactions with all members of staff have been. Equally, my conversations with members of other departments – English, Philosophy, History, Law, Anthropology, Modern Languages, Translation Studies, and Music – have been crucial to helping me develop my interdisciplinary approach to the Classics. My PhD was professionally, emotionally and personally supported by the friends I have made during these three and a half years, at Durham and elsewhere: Maddalena, Marta, Cesare, Carlo, Fani, Blaz, Seren, Giulia, Giulia, Valerio, Nick, Katie, Nikos, Emily, Laura, with whom I have shared the joys and troubles that a PhD inevitably presents; Fausto, Vale, Pietro, Emmanuel, Arianna, Eli, Martina, Marco, Christopher, Arnau, Jess, Susana, Elisa, Alex, Jorge, Diego, Violeta, whom I thank for having been an important part of my (PhD) life; Chris, Lewis, Eugenio, Julia, Chiara, Allegra, Bridget, Astrid, Amy, Rioghnach, Sara, Dave, Julene, Matt, Miriam, for both their friendship and academic collaboration. My thoughts also go to the ‘prehistory’ of my life as a PhD student, namely my friends and teachers in Sicily, Trento and throughout the world, as well as my swimming teams. Two separate mentions are due to Claudia Dellacasa and Caterina Milo: we started together, we shared the troubles of a global pandemic, and we are finishing our doctoral adventure together. A special thought goes to the person who found me in the middle of a storm, and helped me realise that walking through that storm is the essence of life – I will find you again. I am sure that I am forgetting someone, for which I apologise. All these (and many other) people have been essential to who I am now, and what my thesis is. Finally, my most affectionate thanks go to my family, particularly my parents and sister, Marilena, Roberto and Daniela. None of this would have been possible without them. This PhD thesis has been completed during the Covid-19 outbreak, and has been funded by a Northern Bridge Doctoral Studentship. Alle corse sotto la pioggia agli allenamenti alle sei del mattino al coraggio di non mollare alla luce che brilla negli occhi di chi accarezza i sogni A chi ha creduto in me prima che ci credessi io – A tutta la mia ‘tribù’ Introduction Heroines or Hero(-id-)es? Motherhood, gender and self-identity Long afterward, Oedipus, old and blinded, walked the roads. He smelled a familiar smell.