Theatrical Tragedy and Moral Phenomena: A Cross-Examination of Morality in Rotrou, Racine, and Nietzsche

"This paper seeks to distinguish between two different moral dispositions found in two texts that have a similar context. Le Véritable St. Genest by Jean Rotrou and Phèdre by Jean Racine both were written in France during the 17 h century and look back to Antiquity for their setting. However, the moral assertions provided in these texts suggest opposite senses of morality. In order to distinguish between these two texts, a careful examination of morality drawing upon a genealogical critique as suggested by Friedrich Nietzsche proves useful. As Nietzsche suggests that the common notion of the "good" has undergone a total reversal from its original meaning in Antiquity, this idea can be used as an analytic tool to examine morality in these texts that look back to Antiquity from the modern era."