Seneca's Characters
Fictional Identities and Implied Human Selves

The first full-length study of fictional character in Senecan tragedy, focusing on issues of coherence, imitation, appearance and autonomy.

Erica M. Bexley (Author)

9781108477604, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 7 July 2022

400 pages
22.2 x 14.4 x 2.6 cm, 0.62 kg

'[A] learned, searching, and in many ways compelling book … It is not easy to do justice, in a relatively brief review, to the wealth of novel insights that Bexley's close readings of specific passages yield, and to the full complexity of her carefully articulated and often elaborate argument. Her writing is generally lucid and vibrant, with welcome dashes of personality: in this respect, even though her book operates within the parameters of the most influential recent scholarship on Senecan tragedy and its philosophical/psychological properties, she carves out her own space in this crowded field …' Gareth Williams, GNOMON

Seneca's Characters addresses one of the most enduring and least theorised elements of literature: fictional character and its relationship to actual, human selfhood. Where does the boundary between character and person lie? While the characters we encounter in texts are obviously not 'real' people, they still possess person-like qualities that stimulate our attention and engagement. How is this relationship formulated in contexts of theatrical performance, where characters are set in motion by actual people, actual bodies and voices? This book addresses such questions by focusing on issues of coherence, imitation, appearance and autonomous action. It argues for the plays' sophisticated treatment of character, their acknowledgement of its purely fictional ontology alongside deep – and often dark – appreciation of its quasi-human qualities. Seneca's Characters offers a fresh perspective on the playwright's powerful tragic aesthetics that will stimulate scholars and students alike.

1. Coherence
2. Exemplarity
3. Appearance
4. Autonomy.

Subject Areas: Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1]