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Essay on the female characters in Medea
Character analysis of medea by euripides
Character analysis of medea by euripides
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Justice in Euripides' Medea How do we define reason as just? When asked this question, it really makes you begin to wonder how to depict what one might think is just. In the story of Medea, reason is what drives many of the characters actions. For example, the reason that Jason leaves Medea for Creon's daughter is for his own benefit. Is that just? Medea then kills Creon and his daughter for revenge against Jason. Is that just?. Throughout the whole story, you are torn with emotions between the characters. At first, you feel sorry for Medea. Her husband, who she has saved from death, has left her for another woman. She has been "all/obediant" their entire marriage, transforming herself into the sort of wife required by society. You can't help but sympathize with her. As she is "Faced with her husband's cold pragmatism, Medea responds according to her nature." Euripides really stresses the "otherness" of Medea's nature: she is "of a different kind", described in terms of nature and animals: she is "a rock or wave of the sea'", "like a wild bull", "a tiger". Yes, she is a little dangerous, but she is driven by her hear; that vital force which distinguishes the body from the corpse and has been crushed by Jason's betrayal. 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. The stories characters, Medea and Jason, can be seen as representations of two different responses to life. For hundreds of years, society has judged each others actions and reactions based on just cause. This story, to me, has a type of underlying theme that drags the reader into a moral debate, which forces you to really question your own belief system. Today, we see it everywhere. On reality tv, court tv, and even on the news. We are constantly required to judge peoples actions as just or unjust.
Poe, Edgar Allan. The Collected Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. New York: The Modern Library 1992
Euripedes tugs and pulls at our emotions from every angle throughout The Medea. He compels us to feel sympathy for the characters abused by Medea, yet still feel sympathy for Medea as well. These conflicting feelings build a sense of confusion and anxiety about the unfolding plot. In the beginning, the Nurse reveals the recent background events that have caused Medea so much torment: "She herself helped Jason in every way" (13) and now he "has taken a royal wife to his bed" (18). Right away we are angry with Jason for breaking his wedding vows, and we are building up sympathy for Medea as the Nurse describes her acts of suffering. When we first see Medea, she speaks passionately to the women of Corinth and convinces them to side with her. She evokes their sympathy by drawing further attention to her suffering and speaking in terms that bring them all to common ground. Aegeus becomes Medea’s first victim when he, unknowingly, provides the final building block in her plan for revenge against Jason. We sympathize for Aegeus in his ignorance. Medea now has confidence in her plan, so she reveals it to the women of Corinth. She is going to send her children to Jason’s bride with a poisoned dress that will make her die in agony. We are still compelled to sympathize with Medea at this point because she has justified her reasons for seeking revenge. However, the princess is oblivious to Medea’s plot; she will accept the gift for its beauty then meet an unexpected, agonized death. The image of pain and agony elicits our sympathy as well. Medea presents her most perverse speech when she explains how she will kill her own children then flee Corinth. Alone, these acts provoke pure disgust, but Euripides has developed Medea’s character as a coercive force; we still sympathize with her for her plight, yet we also hate her for her decisions. The women of Corinth try to persuade her away from this morbid choice, but their arguments are ineffective. Euripides employs stichomythia in the exchange between the women and Medea to show Medea breaking down boundaries between self and other, which prevent sympathy (811-819). Euripedes focuses on suffering, ignorance, and rhetoric to leave us torn in our sympathy for every character.
Because she does not hold the same beliefs and ideals of the women in her new society, this escalates the Greek’s skepticism of her and leads to further rejection. Jason explains to Medea that Greek women accept traditional societal roles and the duties placed on them by men when he says, “It is only natural for your sex to show resentment when their husbands contract another marriage. But your heart has now changed for the better. It took time, to be sure, but you have now seen the light of reason. That’s the action of a wise woman” (Page 209-210), but Medea strongly refutes these beliefs.
While some people may believe that Medea crossed the line when she had killed four people, including her children, in order to get revenge, others view this killing as justifiable because it was the only way to truly hurt Jason. Yet, because of how emotional Medea was and where she came from, readers believe her to be demented and barbaric. However, readers will have to take into factor the actions that Medea took before this story took place and is told throughout the story in Medea’s own confession, “Love for you was greater than my wisdom. Then I killed Pelias in the most agonizing way, at the hands of his own daughters, and demolished his household, all of it. Now, after I’ve done all this to help you, you brute, you betray me and help
Poe, Edgar Allan. Ligeia. 8th ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 692-701. Print.
The tale of Medea and its characters are changed and shaped through the themes of love, betrayal, and revenge. The Love that Medea Had for Jason made her leave her homeland and caused Jason to leave Medea for the princess. Medea became engulfed in her need for revenge when Jason betrayed her, after she murdered his political rival out of love for him. Each theme led to the next, until Medea had completed her vengeance and Jason was left alone with his deceased wife. Medea and Jason loved each other, but Medea’s barbaric instincts and Jason’s political necessities entangled them in a web of betrayal and revenge.
One of Edgar Allan Poe’s most infamous poems is The Raven. Poe is known for his Gothic style writing and this is reflected in the poem. The poem which is published in the year 1845, is one that launches Poe into celebrity status (Bloom). The tone throughout the poem is melancholy and captivates readers with well written ...
Euripides’ Medea is a play centered around Medea who has been abandoned by her one true love and husband, Jason. Jason leaves Medea to marry the princess of Corinth and finally achieve his dreams of reigning as a King. Creon, King of Corinth, orders Medea and her children to be exiled from the land out of fear of Medea’s evil ways. After pleading to Creon, Creon gives Medea one day to gather her children and find a new home away from Corinth. It is during her last days, Medea plans to murder Jason, the princess, and Creon. Even though Jason claims he is marrying the princess for the best interests of both Medea and their children, Medea still cannot forgive him for his actions of infidelity. For her own satisfaction, Medea changes her plans and decides not to murder Jason, but to have him live to mourn the loss of his own children and his bride. Yes, Medea plans her own children’s deaths. Medea’s mourning for her children will not outweigh the satisfaction she will feel as she watches Jason’s suffering. In my essay, I will focus on why Medea kills her own two sons in revenge against Jason. Medea decides to kill her
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.
Medea is able to totally remove any human emotion behind the murder. She doesn’t seem to accept Jason’s new bride as a person, but rather an.... ... middle of paper ... ... Medea makes a wonderful pathetic character because of her strange way of thinking and rationalizing, ability to manipulate people, and her strong desire to make Jason suffer.
Despite being faced with many hardships, Poe was able to harness his woes and transform them into works of art. Although quite sinister at times, the works of Poe have the power to leave readers breathless. It is with this power that “The Raven” was created. Poe created a way in which repetition would provoke meaning instead of boredom. He shaped symbols that would encourage the exact thoughts to occur to the reader that he had been thinking upon writing “The Raven.” His characters were crafted in a way that would be relatable to everyone and be easily understood. These characters not only make “The Raven” more universal, but they make the message of the poem more intense to the reader. In order to produce work that makes people feel and suffer, a stroke of genius is necessary. This stroke of genius was distinguished in the life of Edgar Allan Poe. It is works like this that encourage the literary world to expand. This inspires writers to fabricate their own claim to fame. “The Raven,” of course, has influenced many works (Bloom 49). To create a masterpiece as extraordinary as “The Raven” again is quite literally impossible. The use of characters, symbolism, and repetition sets this poem on its own little shelf, to be outshined,
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.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Philosophy of Composition." Literary Criticism of Edgar Allan Poe. Ed. Robert L. Hough. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press, 1965. 20-32. Rpt. in Poetry Criticism. Ed. Timothy J. Sisler. Vol. 54. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resource Center. Web. 13 July 2014.
Even in today’s society, gender roles play a part in how people view the world. Although more important than the gender roles are the emotions that antagonize the psyche of the human. Medea shows how jealousy can lead to revenge and influence bad decisions and ruin or even end lives. Ironically, the decisions she makes to kill her children, leaves Jason helpless much like a Greek wife during this time. She removes the opportunity for him to voice his opinions, needs, and desires. This flip of traditional gender roles shows how gender roles are not a reliable way to view a society.
This mutual suffering between Medea and the Chorus raises issues such as the treatment of women at the time when this play was written. When Medea married Jason, she married herself to him for life. She was expected to be totally obedient and to accept whatever her husband willed. For her to look upon another man other than her husband would have been totally unacceptable. Whereas Jason marries another woman while he...