earticle

영어

This study explores Sarah Ruhl’s play Eurydice from a Nietzschean perspective. The work reinterprets the Orpheus myth, focusing on Eurydice’s perspective as she actively chooses to return to the underworld. While previous studies have mainly examined Eurydice’s agency and the significance of her choice, they fall short of delving into the play’s deeper exploration of death itself. Similarly, the Orpheus myth fragments that inspired the play emphasize the absoluteness of death, with Eurydice’s choice in the play ultimately leading to the consequences of embracing death. This study first examines Nietzsche’s understanding of Greek tragedy as the unification of Apollonian and Dionysian artistic impulses. It then critiques Apollonian perspectives on death and identifies the necessity of a Dionysian approach to overcome these limitations. Finally, it traces the balance of these perspectives within Eurydice, interpreting the meaning of death as presented in the play. In particular, it reveals how the Apollonian impulse to romanticize the afterlife ultimately collapses under Dionysian principles of forgetfulness and silence. This analysis highlights not only the play’s gendered subversion of myth but also its tragic reconfiguration of mythic motifs.