Litterae Mortis: cartas de suicídio nas heroides

Abstract

Ovid’s Heroides is rooted in two literary genres: the elegiac and the epistolary. This work highlights the epistolary aspect of the Heroides without losing sight of the fact that elegiac characteristics are inseparable from the Ovidian text. We understand that the choice of the epistolary form, especially concerning the theme of suicide, is meaningful. According to Duncan Kennedy (2002, p. 223), the need or impulse to write a letter arises from particular circumstances and involves writing "for the moment." In this sense, we understand that a "suicide letter" expresses these aspects more prominently. Indeed, this type of letter sets out a specific temporal milestone in these characters’ fates: the imminence of their death or, more specifically, of their self-annihilation. Hence, our investigation aims to assess the following issues: 1) the delimitations of a "suicide letter", 2) the characteristics of Ovidian "suicide letters", and 3) linguistic aspects of this subgroup that are related to the feminine writing in the Heroides, focusing on elements related to gender. Finally, we analyze two epistles present in the Heroides: Epistle 2 (Phyllis to Demophon), and 11 (Canace to Macareus). By contrast, we comment on aspects of Epistle 7 (Dido to Aeneas). This work also presents a translation followed by notes of Heroides 2 and 11.