After examining Phaedra, we inevitably encounter an impression of familiarity in Andromache. Every author, even Shakespeare, has his own distinctive style. Thus in Andromache, as well as in Phaedra, love dominates the play, a love of a similar nature, imperious, uncontrollable, irrational, a disastrous emotion that leads to tragedy.
The literary formula is also familiar. Once again the curtain rises on a situation that is close to its climax. This necessitates a fairly lengthy exposition, deftly handled by the author in the first scene.
However Andromache (which incidentally was written before Phaedra) is emphatically not a variation on a theme. Subtle but significant differences distinguish it from Phaedra. Instead of a simple composition wherein the attention is focused on the protagonist and even prominent characters like Hippolytus are subordinated to the principal female role, that of Phaedra, Andromache presents a complex arrangement. The play suggests a dramatic dance, a quadrille in which each of the partners alternately leads the dance and forces the others to take a step. Orestes' mission compels Pyrrhus to make a decision about Andromache. She, in turn, will make a decision which will affect Hermione, who will then act and involve Orestes in her action.
