Iphigenia, Phaedra, Athaliah

"What then, except for the exquisite verse, is there in this tragedy for the modern reader who does not believe in a God who withdraws his grace arbitrarily, or in the inherent wickedness of any passion so long as it is restrained? There is, quite simply, the vivid sense of guilt--that guilt that is still universal. No matter what our reason tells us, most of us have felt, at one time or another, expecially in our younger years, a loathing and shame for something within ourselves for which we are not responsible, but which still makes us feel monsters. Who has not speculated, like Phedre, that the only reason he is greeted with smiles and not horror, is that his fellow men do not know of the evil within him? Who has not felt that his mask was a better thing than himself?"Watling, E. F. is the author of 'Iphigenia, Phaedra, Athaliah ', published 1964 under ISBN 9780140441222 and ISBN 0140441220.