Phaedra (US) / The Heroines (UK)
Phaedra has enjoyed a pampered life as the younger daughter of King Minos, despite the mocking whispers about her mother. Then Theseus comes to Crete as a tribute, and though he slays her brother and takes away her sister, Phaedra agrees to return to Athens with him. There she is preyed upon by Theseus’ son, Hippolytus, and when Theseus’ advisors urge him to test his new system of democracy by trying Hippolytus for the crime of rape, Phaedra finds that this world holds no justice, at least not for women.
Despite the evocative mythological setting, Shepperson’s reality is bleak, cruel, and untroubled by complexity. Background and settings are lightly sketched, and key contexts—for instance, this world’s relationship to the gods, from whom the royal characters claim to be descended—are left unexplored. (Likewise, it’s never explained why Minos chose to cage his son in an underground labyrinth.) The prose too feels lightly sketched, without the texture or imagery that might bring the world and its characters fully to life.
The points of view, split among many characters, prevent the reader from identifying closely with any one of them. Phaedra’s character arc is sadly limited; she never emerges from young adolescence, nor does she learn to navigate the brutal world around her. While the theme of women’s oppression offers a stark commentary on the modern world, the relentless cruelty of the men gradually squeezes any room for enjoyment out of narrative. Theseus is an un-dimensional monster, his ambitions for establishing a democracy puzzling, and the triumph of injustice leaves a sour taste. Even Medea is defanged here, as damaged and duped as any other woman. I think I prefer the adulterous, vengeful Phaedra of myth to Shepperson’s naïve, pitiable princess; at least the original had some agency.
