520 |
|
|
|b Ovid's Epistulae (Vel Heroides) Which were imaginary poetic message between couples, and Oenone's letter to Paris has been the subject of Research, and a number of researchers were exposed to this message, but none of them dealt with the relationship between identity and betrayal. This point, which is of great importance in our understanding of this imaginary message that exposes the relationship between the origin of Paris and his betrayal of Oenone. It is clear from the letter that Ovid presented Oenone as a woman proud of her identity and angry at being infidelity for the sake of another woman. The fact, she does not depart of her pastoral property identity throughout the letter. In the opening part of the letter, she uses haughty language about her identity and refers to herself as the most famous in her land, that was an attempt to put herself in the position of supplicant to her master, but she soon recalls her royal status and identity as a nymph and daughter of the God. In addition, she speaks of her concessions when she fall in love with Paris the shepherd in the mountains. The rustic and inexperienced image in which Oenone expressed herself made her naively subject in Paris' love, and thus reaped nothing but disappointment, pain and abandonment. If now Oenone abandons Paris, she becomes insignificant, thus, the wife represented tries to defend her existence by her message, so Oenone's identity was dual, and she was a wife and mermaid in the same time. Oenone appears confused between her identity as a mermaid and being an abandoned wife, as her husband, with whom she was keen to stay, is now abandoning her, but despite this, she tries to maintain her status. Perhaps she is being punished for some of her actions in the past, but she remember nothing for which she deserves punishment, but perhaps her only crime is that she naively abandoned her identity and status and fell in love. When Oenone describes the pain she suffered from Paris' betrayal of her and his return with Helene without returning to her, but abandoning her without any remorse for another woman, he thus masters the lost identity between social status and betrayal. Therefore, we see her move from beggar to critic; she attacks Paris and Helene and warns them of the painful events that will befall them and at the end of the letter, she desperately asks Paris to go back to her, knowing well that this is impossible.
|