she still confesses her desire Her later lie against Hippolytus makes her guilt heavier Yet Seneca presents her as both sinner and victim Her moral fall and painful love start the tragic destruction Hippolytus Harsh Pride Hippolytus also shares blame because of his pride He hates all women and refuses love completely His heart has no pity for Phaedra s suffering He says Away with thy impure touch from my chaste body His cruel rejection increases her pain His extreme purity becomes arrogance Seneca shows that even virtue without compassion can be dangerous Hippolytus pride blinds him to others feelings His anger and harsh words drive Phaedra toward guilt and death Thus his cold pride adds fuel to the fire of tragedy The Nurse s Evil Role The Nurse s actions make the tragedy worse She tries to help Phaedra but uses the wrong methods She encourages the queen to follow her passion The Nurse says Let us test that grim and stubborn soul Her plan to tempt Hippolytus brings disaster After Hippolytus rejects Phaedra the Nurse lies that he attacked the queen Her false cry Help Athens help creates chaos and anger Her lies make Theseus curse his innocent son Seneca uses the Nurse to show how weak and selfish guidance can destroy many lives Theseus Blind Judgment Theseus as the husband and father also causes tragedy by his rash anger He believes Phaedra s lie without searching for the truth He curses his son and calls on Neptune to kill him His words bring Hippolytus death Seneca shows that uncontrolled anger and quick judgment are as harmful as passion Theseus acts as a father without reason His lack of patience turns him from a protector into a destroyer His fury completes the tragedy The Gods and Fate The gods too share the blame for the tragedy Venus sends the curse of love to punish Phaedra s family Phaedra herself says Venus detesting the offspring of the hated Sun is avenging through us The divine curse makes her love Hippolytus against her will Thus human beings suffer under divine revenge Seneca s Stoic belief appears here fate controls all things and human reason is weak against it Phaedra Hippolytus and Theseus become tools of fate The tragedy happens because the gods will it so In termination we can say that the tragedy of Phaedra does not stem from one person alone Phaedra s passion Hippolytus pride the Nurse s deceit and Theseus anger all combine to bring ruin Above all divine fate works through their actions Seneca shows that when passion defeats reason guilt and death follow Thus the tragedy teaches that moral weakness and blind emotion together destroy both love and life