A FEMME FATALE IN ANCIENT ROME: THE CASE OF FRONESIO IN THE WORK TRUCULENTUS BY PLAUTUS (2ND CENTURY B.C.)

Martell-Caro J.; Meza-Eguizabal D.; Gonzales-Macavilca M. · Metafora (2024) · DOI: 10.36286/mrlad.v3i6.183

Resumen

This study aims to analyze the archetype of the femme fatale in Plautus’s work Truculentus (2nd century B.C.), transcending the conventional focus that confines its exploration to the 19th and 20th centuries. Employing a qualitative methodology of documentary analysis, hermeneutics serves as a guiding principle to unveil the semantic substance of the text. Greimas’s actantial schema is applied to discern the roles of characters in the narrative. Thus, it is concluded that the protagonist, Fronesio, emerges as a representation of the femme fatale in Ancient Rome, embodying the distinctive characteristics of the archetype. She utilizes her sexuality to seduce and manipulate affluent and naïve male characters (Diniarco, Estratófanes, and Estrábax), with the primary objective of acquiring material resources. The collaboration of secondary characters, such as Astafio (in the role of an assistant), and the disapproval of others, such as Truculentus and Cíamo (in the roles of opponents), establish a complex dynamic reflecting implicit societal condemnation towards this fatal woman. Ultimately, this work contributes to research on female characters in Plautus’s oeuvre and the broader investigations into the representation of the femme fatale in classical literature.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos; Universidad de Ciencias y Humanidades