Jason Is To Blame In Oedipus The King

Jason is the most obvious candidate for the villain, as his inconsiderate and selfish actions spur the central conflict of the story. Jason, although he had already settled down and had two kids with Medea, decides to leave his family to marry the king’s daughter in order to advance his own position in life. Medea is heartbroken by this, and even further devastated when she learns that she is being exiled by the king. Jason is superficially sympathetic and also attempts to defend himself, even though ke knows that divorcing his wife is wrong. He argues that his actions are in the interest of the entire family, and that Medea is simply too stupid to see it. He says he had wished to give their sons royal brothers, and the marrying into the royal family would provide wealth. He argues that it was Madea’s fault she is being

For instance, when the play was written, women had very little power over their lives. Jason’s actions may have been normal, and justified by the current thinking, because he was trying to raise his social status and because Medea was a barbarian. However, the lens of the play isn’t written from this patriarchal perspective. Instead, it sympathizes with Medea’s problems and, to an extent, her plot for revenge. Jason’s selfish actions have an enormous impact on Medea and would effectively ruin her life, regardless if she had gone through with her revenge plot. The play highlights how cruel Jason is being directly, and how much of Jason’s villainy stems from the harsh consequences his inconsiderate actions have on Medea. Portraying Jason in this negative light serves as a sort of social commentary about how poorly women were treated and how small a standing they had in society. Ultimately Jason is the villain, not only because he is selfish and traitorous to Medea, but also because his actions are indicative of the oppressive nature of society towards