Herodias by Gustave Flaubert [PDF]

Information: Herodias

• Author: Gustave Flaubert
• Publication Date: 1877
• Main Characters:
  • Herod Antipas: Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, torn between political survival and personal desires, he holds Iaokanann prisoner in his fortress.
  • Herodias: Herod's ambitious and vindictive wife who schemes to have the prophet Iaokanann executed for publicly condemning her marriage.
  • Iaokanann: The imprisoned prophet (John the Baptist) whose fierce denunciations of Herod and Herodias drive the central conflict.
  • Salome: The young daughter of Herodias whose seductive dance at the banquet leads Herod to grant the fatal request for Iaokanann's head.
  • Vitellius: The Roman proconsul whose visit to Machaerus adds political pressure and intensifies the power struggles within the fortress.
• Brief Summary: Herodias retells the biblical episode leading to the execution of John the Baptist, called Iaokanann in the story. Set in the fortress of Machaerus, it portrays Herod Antipas caught between Roman political pressure, his wife Herodias's vengeful obsession, and the prophetic fury of the imprisoned Iaokanann. The story culminates in a lavish banquet where Salome's famous dance seals the prophet's fate. Flaubert blends historical research with literary artistry to recreate the tensions of first-century Judea. It is a concentrated work that reveals the collision of religion, politics, and personal ambition.
• Thematic Analysis: The central themes of Herodias revolve around the destructive interplay of political power, religious authority, and personal vengeance. Herodias manipulates her husband and orchestrates events to eliminate Iaokanann, whose prophecies threaten her legitimacy. Flaubert also examines how competing belief systems, from Jewish sects to Roman pragmatism, create a volatile landscape where violence becomes inevitable.
• Historical Context: Flaubert wrote Herodias in 1877 as the final piece of his collection Three Tales, drawing extensively on biblical accounts and the writings of Flavius Josephus. He researched the archaeology, geography, and politics of first-century Judea with obsessive detail. The story reflects both the historical realities of Roman-occupied Palestine and the broader nineteenth-century French fascination with the ancient Orient.