Hermione, speaking to her confidante Cleone, is not sure she wants to see Orestes. Even though she has often wished for his presence, she is ashamed that he will see her rejected by Pyrrhus. Her father has instructed her to leave Epirus with the Greek embassy if Pyrrhus refuses their requests, but even though she hates Pyrrhus for his treatment of her, she is not certain but that she still loves him too. If he were to return to her . . . but no, he will not; all she can do to avenge herself is to urge the Greeks to demand Andromache's death too. Cleone protests; it is evident, she says, that Andromache does not want Pyrrhus and is not to blame.
Alas, says Hermione, the mistake was hers in opening her heart to Pyrrhus too promptly. Seeing him, hero of the Trojan War, returning with the Greeks in triumph, she fell in love with him immediately and promised to wed him. But he has proved unfaithful, so now let Orestes plead his own cause.
