Madea Exploratory Essay The greek tragedy Medea debunks the tried-and-true belief system that greeks adopted for years; that everyone, despite efforts to resist or rebel, is controlled by fate predetermined by the gods. Euripides, an innovator way ahead of his time, dismisses this idea. Thus introducing the most important recurring theme in the play. Human beings–not fate, not the gods, not bad luck–are the authors of their own misfortunes. As the play unravels, the audience is introduced to a woman who has been abandoned by her husband and is left with nothing. Like any good tragic hero, Medea has two major flaws that cause a mistake in her judgement and lead to the downfall of herself and those around her; rage and jealousy. These two qualities eventually lead to her committing multiple murders, most shockingly including her two sons. (56) But unlike the heroes in other greek tragedies, Medea was not destined by the gods to commit such horrendous acts. Like all the other women in her time, Medea was supposed to swallow her pride and bear the pain of betrayal quietly. Her children and the king and his daughter were not destined to die in that way. This is evident before Medea kills her children, when she is Medea is upset by the male-dominated Greek society – banished by Creon, betrayed by her husband. It could be considered that she is rebelling against the role of mother, in which women were often trapped. We get a glimpse of her feelings on the matter on pages 24-25, but especially on lines 248-250 when it is stated that she would rather “stand three times on the front line than bear one child.” It's probably no coincidence that Medea's final act of revolution is to kill two young boys. This murder could be interpreted as the destruction of the next generation of potential oppressors. In the end, the slaughter of Medea's sons seems to be a symbolic act of bloody
Later in the story, our sympathy transfers from Medea to Jason. Her revenge turns immoral, leaving readers with a sense of uneasiness. It is not so much the fact that she kills Creon and his daughter, but the fact that she slays her children in cold-blood.
Medea is a tragedy written by acclaimed Greek playwright Euripides.fortunately, had the opportunity to view last night's performance. Euripides cleverly uncovers the reality of Ancient Greek society, shining a light on the treatment of women and the emotions and thoughts that provoked during their time in society. As they were voiceless, Euripides acted as a voice. The scene is set during a male- dominated society, Medea the protagonist challenges the views and chooses to ignore the normality of civilisation. Treated as an outsider her passion for revenge conquers the motherly instincts she possesses, provoking a deep hatred and sparking revenge towards her once loved family.
The problem set at the beginning of the play is that Jason has decided to marry another wife, Glauce. Medea is angered and will not let Jason off without punishment. The loss of Jason is not only a matter of passion; Medea has been completely humiliated by Jason's decision to take a new bride. Her pride shows again when she refuses Jason's aid. Though her situation is difficult, she would rather destroy all than accept help from one who has wronged her so horribly. Living as a barbarian among Greeks has made her more defensive, more full of hurt pride. To punish Jason, Medea had her children deliver poisoned gifts to the new bride, to kill her children, Glauce, and Creon. . Medea is not without feeling, nor is she a sociopath. She comprehends the difference between right and wrong, but chooses to follow the dictates of rage.
... powerful, manipulative, and extremely smart, yet because she is a woman she has limited social power. She has no chance of being a hero because she acts out of hurt in her marriage and love turned to hate. In Aeschylus’ Oresteia, Agamemnon also kills his child, although it is not praised, he is still considered a hero after his death. Medea is portrayed as being a selfish and ruthless woman, making her unnatural. Nevertheless, the audience finds themselves uncomfortably admiring Medea and her strength as a woman. Medea’s madness portrays how one’s emotions can lead to detrimental results rather than using reason. She is driven by her desire for revenge and will stop at nothing to burn her husband Jason as he did her.
Although many people have decided to hate Medea by the end of the play, most could not help but feel sorry for her in the beginning. There is almost an immediate connection for the reader when Medea’s husband leaves her for another woman, but this quickly changes to revulsion when the children are killed. Love her or hate her, at the very least people can relate to something about her character. People are able to connect, and even pity her situation. Regardless of personal feelings toward the character, there is no doubt that she is a pathetic character.
With no husband, no country to turn to, and no one she can really depend on for rescue, Medea is trapped by her circumstances. Instead of becoming crushed, however, Medea turns it against those she hate. She attacks the weaknesses in her enemies’ character. Knowing Jason would feel guilty about his abandonment, Medea sent her own children to deliver the poisoned gifts, despite the certain death her children would face being involved in such a plot. Knowing the princess would not resist flashy gifts, she cursed the dress and crown. Knowing the king’s love for his daughter would cause him to rush to her aid, Medea formulated the curse to spread to those who touched the daughter as well. As each facet of her plan had to be executed perfectly to succeed, Medea demonstrated the full potential of her capabilities. She proves that when a society completely scorns and devalues women, everyone will pay as women are incredibly strong.
Her hatred toward Greek women continues as she discusses the fact that she should not have to bear children or have a strong maternal instinct in order to be considered a woman of societal worth. Women should be as important in battle as men are, as she states on page 195 when she says “They say that we have a safe life at home, whereas men must go to war. Nonsense! I had rather fight three battles than bear one child. But be that as it may, you and I are not in the same case.” The gender imbalance in the ancient Greek civilization is greatly upsetting to Medea, creating her mindset that Greek women are weak and simple minded while Greek men are oppressive and inequitable. Medea shares
The speech itself highlights women's subordinate status in ancient Greek society, especially in the public eye." When Medea points out that women, especially "foreign" women, "require some knowledge of magic and other covert arts to exert influence over their husbands in the bedroom," she argues for a kind of alternative power that women can enjoy. A power that remains invisible to men and unknown by society, yet sways each with unquestionable force. Medea also supplies a method for interpreting her own character towards the end of her speech (lines 251-257): we should read her history of exile as a metaphoric exaggeration of all women's alienation; in fact, her whole predicament, past and yet to come, can be read as an allegory of women's suffering and the heights of tragedy it may unleash if left unattended. Under this model of interpretation, Medea portrays the rebellion of women against their "wretchedness." Such a transparent social allegory may seem forced or clichéd in our own contemporary setting, but in Euripides' time it would have been revolutionary, as tragedy generally spoke to the sufferings of a generic (perhaps idealized) individual, rather than a group. It would be a mistake, however, to claim that Medea's speech elaborates a clearly progressive political message, as her concluding remarks appeal to women's natural talent for devious manipulation (line 414). While Euripides' play manifests many revolutionary political sentiments, its social criticisms remain sporadic, forming just a part of some of the many trains of thought he follows.
In Greek society, the role of women was considered to be insignificant compared to the Greek men. The women had very few rights, no room to voice personal opinions, and a very bleak future with few options for a better life. According to Moses Hades, professor of Greek studies, women in ancient Greek plays are known to be the main characters and take the role of the villain, victim, or the heroine. In Euripides’ play Medea, Medea, the main character, plays all these roles. She represents the heroine by helping her husband secure the Golden Fleece prior to their marriage, and then portrays the victim by being betrayed by her husband, and finally the villain by murdering her loved ones. Therefore, Euripides follows the standard format for a Greek tragedy.
As with Medea and Jason, the battle between the two lead to former's madness, leading to the death of the enemies she considered, and, unfortunately, leading as well to the death of her own children. Medea felt betrayed and left behind by her husband Jason, as well as continuously aggravated by Creon despite the fact that it was she who was in a disadvantaged position.
...play has many significant decisions but the decisions by Medea to get revenge, which leads her to murdering many people in the process, is the most dramatic decision of all. It shows all the horror that can come from our decisions, and that we should not let revenge rule our lives as it did Medea’s. Overall, the story was very entertaining with all of Medea’s unthinkable decisions and she received no punishments for what she did, really made the play unpredictable. Euripides used a variety of concepts throughout the play that leaves it up to the audience to interpret Medea, in a variety of ways. Revenge, betrayal, passion, love, etc. are all feelings portrayed in Medea and they are what help shape the overall meaning of the play. In conclusion, one can feel that Medea’s focus of revenge took over her life, and she made the decision to choose passion over reasoning.
Medea’s illegitimate marriage and the betrayal of Jason drive Medea to extreme revenge. Medea chooses to act with her immortal self and commit inhumane acts of murder rather than rationalize the outcomes of her actions. Medea see’s this option as her only resort as she has been banished and has nowhere to go, “stripped of her place”. To create sympathy for Medea, Euripides plays down Medea’s supernatural powers until the end of the play. Throughout the play Medea represents all characteristics found in individual women put together, including; love, passion, betrayal and revenge. Medea’s portrayal of human flaws creates empathetic emotions from the audience. The audience commiserates with Medea’s human flaws as they recognize them in themselves. Medea plays the major role in this play as she demonstrates many behavioral and psychological patterns unlike any of the other Greek women in the play; this draws the audience’s attention to Medea for sympathy and respect.
Internal conflicts within Medea shed light on her true character and her difficulties to make decisions. Throughout the play, there are many cases of Medea contemplating her decisions and this is done so the readers can see that Medea thinks for herself, and doesn’t let any male control her life. In the play, Medea states, “I had rather stand three times in the front line than bear one child” (1. 249-50). This shows that her internal conflict with not wanting to go through childbirth again is proof that her character is a little bit of a “masculine” woman. In the quote she is saying she’d rather battle than give birth. In a way, it is an example of Medea’ rejection of the foundation of the typical role of woman. Another example of Medea having an
Medea's plan was set into motion. She has nothing to loose. She is even angrier because she betrayed her own father and her people for him. She even bears the burden of having Pelias killed by his daughters for Jason. She decides to take revenge out on Jason's bride and poisons her. She also doesn't want Jason to take the children from her. She decides to kill them, but agonizes over this decision before killing them. Some critics view this as a pathetic attempt at motherhood. I know there is a certain bond between mother and child. She just wants to hurt Jason as much as she has been hurt. "She first secures a place of refuge, and seems almost on the point of bespeaking a new connection. Medea abandoned by the entire world, was still sufficient for herself." (blackmask).
Although Medea killed and did things that people felt were wrong it is evident that through out the play that along with her other characteristics, she was a caring and loving person. The first time we are shown this is when we discover everything she did for Jason. If she did not love him she would not have done those things. We are also shown that Medea can be a caring person by the love that she had for her children. Although she killed them in the end during the play she was a mother to her children, she showed affection to them, and she did think twice before she killed them. It is because Medea was a caring and loving person that she did what she did. Her feelings were hurt and her heart was broken; and she did what she felt she had to do to hurt Jason for hurting her.