Shattered Mothers (and Relatives): Representing maternal Grief and Responsibility in Greek Tragedy Fragments

Shattered Mothers (and Relatives): Representing maternal Grief and Responsibility in Greek Tragedy Fragments. This study examines three fragmentary tragedies, Sophocles’ Eurypylus, Aeschylus’ Niobe, and Euripides’ Ino, focusing on the characterisation of the female protagonists. They are mothers who lose their offspring, either because of circumstances not linked to them, or because they happen to kill (with varying levels of actual responsibility) their own children. Within the plot, they are closely intertwined with another member of their family: a male relative (brother, husband, father, etc.), who partially shares in the action taking place, and in the attention of the audience. At different levels, these characters share with the mother her feelings, grief, and sometimes even guilt for the death of the child or children. By showing their actions and inner connection with their female relative, the dramatists aim to enhance the portrayal of the motivations, grief and, in some cases, the justifications of the protagonist of these plays: the mother. The aim of this study is to show how these male characters play the role of sounding boards for the female protagonists’ guilt and sorrow: they magnify the characterisations of the mothers, and, above all, their grieving solitude.