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Tragedy and pathos


 Posted by Linden on May 02, 1998 at 20:02:33:


In response to Can I get a clarification?, written by Erin on May 02, 1998 at 13:53:45


Back to the Library ] What's the difference between pathos and tragedy?
Tragedy has been defined as the story of a great man (person, these days) with a fatal flaw that brings him down: think of Oedipus (bad choice of wives and murder victims) and Othello (trusting the wrong people). In more general terms, it's when the protagonist suffers through their own fault or mistake - eg Anne Elliot.
Pathos is what happens to innocent victims - eg Desdemona, Othello's wife (if you know the play, think of the scene where she sings the song of willow: beautiful example of pathos). It is difficult to do well, since it easily descends into sentimentality (all those Hollywood dogs and children in the weepy scenes). JA's best example is Fanny Price: (IMHO) I think she just about gets away with it with Elinor.





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