Phaedra's Love, Scenes 1-4 Summary

"Phaedra's Love" begins with Hippolytus, fat and slovenly, watching television while slumped on the couch and eating hamburgers. He blows his nose into a dirty sock. Then, he joylessly masturbates into another sock and eats another hamburger.

In Scene 2, Phaedra, Hippolytus's stepmother, consults a doctor about her stepson's malaise. The doctor says that he needs to change his diet and habits. Phaedra tells the doctor that Hippolytus never goes out, only sits around and calls people to him for sex. Evidently, Hippolytus is still very popular though, and Phaedra constantly tries to engage him. While the king, Theseus, is gone, Phaedra and her daughter Strophe tend the state. The doctor suggests that Hippolytus needs a real mother.

In Scene 3, Strophe is surprised to find Phaedra irritable and angry. She deduces that Phaedra is in love with Hippolytus...