The portrait of Aricia refutes the common misconception that Racine painted only the voluptuous love of sensual women. Aricia is a virginal princess who, while not insensitive to Hippolytus' good looks, prizes above all his qualities of character. Her love, unlike that of Phaedra, is reasonable, founded on good sense rather than visual stimulus and physical desire.
At the same time, Racine, aware of the complexity of human emotions, adds to Aricia's love a note of natural vanity. She enjoys the idea of being Hippolytus' first romantic interest, of making a difficult conquest.
Racine is an honest playwright. He does not stoop to a cheap coup de théâtre. He does not announce Theseus' death only to have him appear dramatically later on. The attentive spectator will note the fact that the announcement of Theseus' death is only a rumor, sufficiently vague to warrant Aricia's skepticism.
