If the exposition can be dispatched in one scene, the presentation of the characters cannot be as succinct. Scene 1 presents at length one of the principals, Hermione. As we observed in the case of Phaedra, Racine's simplicity can be deceiving. To be sure, he does not attempt to present the human pageant. He does not even present human beings in all their complexity. In his treatment of most of the major characters Racine concentrates on love, and only a particular kind of love: an intense desire that cannot stand rebuff. Hermione resembles Pyrrhus and shares the same vindictive personality which can only experience love or hate. Even her language is reminiscent of Pyrrhus:
Pyrrhus: Henceforth, my heart, if it does not love ecstatically, must hate furiously.
Hermione: Ah! I loved him too much not to hate him.
There is nothing rigid about the parallel, however. Hermione possesses certain traits absent in Pyrrhus. She has a feminine vanity and would find it flattering to be the wife of a conquering hero. She has a greater lucidity than Pyrrhus. Pyrrhus is a primitive without discernment. He does not suspect how offensive his declarations are to Andromache. Hermione, in spite of a pathetic and wishful attempt to keep her hopes alive, is fully aware of Pyrrhus' indifference.
