Aiace. L’io come assoluto

Abstract

The subjectivity of the character of Ajax in Sophocles’s tragedy is repeatedly characterized as absolute, that is, as independent from the relationships which (as stated in the so-called Trugrede) make up the natural and social fabric. On one side Ajax aspires to a complete autonomy,even with regard to the Gods; on the other, feeling that he is a victim of universal hate, he cannot find a place in the grid of friendships and enmities which holds for everybody else. This definition is partly descended from the representation of Achilles in the Iliad.