The Greek concept of tragedy on which Racine's works are based has a religious origin. It was meant to reflect man's position in the universe and his relationship to the divine. In its definitive form, Greek tragedy presented a conflict between a protagonist of heroic proportions (though sometimes haunted by a tragic flaw) and a hostile fate. In accordance with the cycle of death and resurrection, the tragic play generally ended with the defeat of the hero and the affirmation of a new order.
These features are readily apparent in Racine. Both Andromache and Phaedra have a cosmic framework: Orestes explicitly accuses fate of his misfortune, and Phaedra attributes her weakness to Venus' persecution. Indeed, the catastrophes that crush the protagonists have a brutality, an inexorability that suggests a plot rather than an unfortunate accident.
The characters, however, do not grovel. Orestes does not go gently into the night but shakes his fist at destiny; Hermione commits suicide, thus assuming the responsibility for her own death.
While the play ends on a stormy note, it seems to imply that violence and chaos are an aberration in the orderly scheme of things. Both Andromache and Phaedra intimate that the future will be serene. Andromache becomes the legitimate ruler, and her reign, from all appearances, will be undisturbed. In Phaedra, the queen who is the source of all the troubles has been removed. The king becomes posthumously reconciled to his son and finds a measure of solace in Aricia.
