Mythological heroine, elegiac "puella" or "exemplum bonae coniugis"? : image of poet’s wife in Ovid’s exile poetry

Zawiera recenzowane materiały z konferencji "Wizerunek kobiety idealnej w literaturze greckiej i rzymskiej" (Gdańsk, 2-3 grudnia 2016 roku).

In my paper, I examine a group of exile letters written by Ovid to his third wife. In Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto, there are nine poems directed to her (Tr. I 6; III 3; IV 3; V 2; V 5; V 11; V 14; ExP. I 4; III 1). I would like to present how in the portrayal of his spouse Ovid used topics from Greek mythology as well as motifs from Roman love elegy. The image of the poet's wife is derived from the traditional picture of the Roman bona coniunx but in this case female virtues are downplayed and Ovid shows clearly that her most important virtue is helping him to get the permission to return from Tomis.