Know Thyself, Asshole: Tony Soprano as an Aristotelian Tragic Hero By Mark Lippman

“ Although there are many reasons for the immense success of The Sopranos, one part of its appeal surely comes from its use of tragic elements established long ago in ancient Greek drama. Aristotle,wrote an analysis of tragedy, The Poetics… He sought to understand why and how succesful tragic drama works its magic upon an audience. In this chapter… an analysis of The Sopranos will show that the elements Aristotle identified as ‘tragic’ remain effective. Aristotle’s take on ancient tragedy can help explain why audiences today have such a power response to a flawed character like Tony Soprano”

Pity, Fear, and the Man In-Between Aristotle defines tragedy as “ An immitation of an action, complete and of a certain magnitude…which through pity & fear achieves a catharisis of these emotions.” The Mafia world makes fear a constant component of The Sopranos But fear and violence alone do not constitue tragedy. Horror films contain fearful element, but are not tragic.. He says: “ One must not show good people changing from good fortune into bad. This is neither fearful nor pitiable, but brutal. it is also not tragic to have a bad man fall from good fortune to bad. We experience pity for a man similar to ourselves…Our remaining option is the man in-between… this man falls into misfortune; not through his own evil and depravity, but through some sort of flaw within him”

Tony Soprano is the man in-between Because of the way he earns his fortune, he is not outstanding in regards to virtue or justice. He attempts to be good, but his values contain an inherent strain of violence. The viewer is left with a sense of brutality & hipocrisy, making it hard to label him as either good or evil.

Recognitions & Reversals Reversal - A sudden change in a character’s fortune Recognition – When a character somes into a particular piece of knowledge that brings on a radical alteration in their understanding of the situation. Example: When Agent Harris plays for Tony the tapes of his mother speaking to Junior at Green Grove. He recognizes what was in his subconscious: He cant fool himself his mother is harmless.

Tony’s Tragic Flaw Bad things happen to him, but only those due to his own evil & depravity are tragic. Although Tony had little choice but to follow his fate he remains partially responsible for having brought it about. A tragic flaw is not a sin. It is that aspect of the character’s personality that makes him vulnerable enough so that he himself ultimately contributes to his own downfall.

All in the Families According to Aristotle, the best tragic plots come from whenever misfortunes occur between close relations Another aspect of tragedy in The Soprano’s is how Tony’s strained relationship with his mother bleeds into his relationships with other women in his life. Pity & fear are heightened when violence takes place or even intended between close family members. Examples: Livia tries to kill her son. Medea tries to kill her son. Tony attempts to kill his mother

Tragic Endings & Catharisis Catharsis: the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, esp. through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music. For Aristotle, a tragedy doesnt need to end badly. Violent intentions between family members are enough to make a tragic plot.

In comparison with depression, self-awareness and the improvement of our ability to express our humanity resulting from viewing tragedy can hardly be a bad thing. For Aristotle, a benefit we get from experiencing pity & fear is a catharsis of these emotions.