her sorrow Phaedra s love does not bring happiness or peace It becomes a fire that destroys her body and mind Seneca shows love as a painful human weakness Rejection by Hippolytus Hippolytus hates all women and refuses love completely His rejection makes Phaedra s tragedy greater When she confesses her love he becomes angry and cruel He says Away with thy impure touch from my chaste body His harsh words hurt Phaedra deeply She feels insulted and hopeless Her unreturned love turns into despair Hippolytus coldness shows how pride can kill sympathy His purity becomes heartless pride Thus Seneca shows that both passion and pride can destroy peace The rejection turns love into death The Role of Destiny Seneca shows that destiny rules human love and sorrow Phaedra is punished not only for her sin but also for her bloodline She says I recognize my wretched mother s fatal curse Her mother Pasipha also loved wrongly Venus makes Phaedra suffer because of this curse Her unreturned love is part of divine punishment Phaedra cannot escape this cruel fate Her passion is not only a mistake but also a destiny written by the gods Thus unrequited love becomes a tragic form of divine revenge Inner Conflict and Guilt Phaedra s unreturned love creates a painful fight inside her mind She knows her love is wrong but cannot stop it She cries Passion forces me to take the worser path This quote shows her helplessness Her heart wants love but her reason says no The more Hippolytus rejects her the more she suffers from guilt and shame Her silence tears and final death reveal her deep inner pain Seneca makes the audience feel pity for her as a victim of uncontrollable passion and rejection Death as the Only Escape Phaedra s life becomes unbearable because her love is not returned She finds peace only in death She says This is the only way the one sole escape from evil Her suicide is both her punishment and release Through death she tries to wash away her guilt and sorrow Her death proves that unreturned love leads to destruction In this way Seneca presents Phaedra s death as the final act of her tragic love Her silent suffering and hopeless end make the tragedy complete and moving In Phaedra Seneca presents love not as joy but as pain Phaedra s love for Hippolytus is rejected cursed and fatal Her unreturned passion destroys her peace and leads to her death Hippolytus pride and her guilt make the tragedy more powerful Thus Phaedra is a true tragedy of unrequited love where passion without answer becomes the cause of ruin and sorrow