Máscaras que choram: lágrimas e lamentos na tragédia grega

Abstract

It is difficult, in Greek theatre, to look at tears as a form of intimacy. In fact, the characters move essentially in the public space and not in the intimate sphere of their private world. So, women's tears are subjected to an important degree of ritualisation. This leads us to another inevitable discussion - the one that deals not with the secluded intimate voice of Greek women, but with their public voice, and the occasions in which it may be heard, limited by the bounds of ritual and decorum. It is, therefore, advised to ask: do tears, in Greek tragedy, go beyond the barrier of the mask, do they let us look beyond the immutable face of convention, or is Greek tragedy condemned to shed tears just in words? How do we see the tears, in Greek tragedy? A brief discussion of three examples (Medea, Electra, and Helen) shows us the variety of effects the playwright can extract from tears, but it also shows that the emotional effect of words is, at this early stage of theatrical art, much more powerful than the visual dimension.