The representation of women in Athenian tragedy was performed exclusively for men, thus Euripides' portrayal of Medea displaying traits common to a Grecian hero was somewhat radical. Throughout the play, Euripides continually establishes Medea as one who depicts the duality of having both stereotypically feminine and masculine qualities within her character. He paints her as one who embodies both the typically male personality of a cunning, deceptive and manipulative being, but also one that experiences emotion vividly, and lacks sound reason or conscience. The dichotomous delineation of both her feminine and masculine sides are shown in her lack of composure and obedience, and the way in which she demands revenge for the wrongs others have done to her, respectively. Euripides uses the role of the Chorus and Nurse to assist the audience in understanding Medea’s actions, and thus reconciles Medea’s doings to those of a slighted woman and tragic hero.
Medea’s name itself means ‘cunning’ in Greek, alluding to the fact that she displays qualities that are uncharacteristic to the portrayal of her sex in Ancient Greece. While, idiosyncratically, women are presented as docile,
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In her musings after Creon’s exit, she exclaims, “Today three of my enemies I shall strike dead, father and daughter; and my husband.”. Medea proceeds to discuss with the Chorus on the possible ways to kill her enemies, including considering killing them face to face with a sword. This imagery of Medea employing such an obviously masculine weapon repeats the notion of the dichotomous nature of her identity, employing the tactful nature of a woman, as well as the need for vengeance of a customarily male
In both works the protagonists act in opposition to the established cultural roles society has dealt them. In ancient Greek society, women were controlled by their father before they were married, and controlled by their spouse once they were married; Medea opposes this convention and ultimately succeeds in overthrowing it. In fact the theme of reversal of gender roles pervades the entire text. This is exemplified when at the end of the play Medea domineeringly states, “Now of...
The exchange that takes place between Medea and the Chorus serves several purposes in Euripides' tragedy, The Medea. It allows us to sympathize with Medea in spite of her tragic flaws. It also foreshadows the tragic events that will come to pass. Finally, it contrasts rationality against vengeance and excess. The Chorus offers the sane view of the world to the somewhat insane characters of Medea, Jason, and Creon. As the passage begins on page 176, the leader of the Chorus reveals that she has high regards for Medea despite the fact that she is "savage still." She acknowledges Medea as a foreigner and an outsider and yet is sympathetic towards her. This alliance is apparently based on female bonds rather than on any kind of national loyalty. Medea wastes no time before she begins lamenting and cursing those who "dared wrong me without cause." The Chorus tries to comfort Medea, hoping that this might "lessen her fierce rage / And her frenzy of spirit." They show real concern for her well-being, as well as for the well-being of her loved ones. This unselfish attitude is in stark contrast to the attitudes of the main characters in the tragedy, who all seem to be extremely self-serving. So in just a few short lines, it's already become apparent that while the chorus doesn't necessarily agree with the way that Medea is handling her situation, they are sticking by her and supporting her. This idea supports one of the important themes of the play: the battle of the sexes. Medea now has a chance to get a few things off her chest. She addresses the "Women of Corinth," reminding them that of "all things that live upon the earth and have intelligence we women are certainly the most wretched." She discusses the sad lot that women must deal with in marriage and again stresses the fact that she is an outsider, "alone, without / a city. Her speech is clever and compelling.
The tragic play Medea is a struggle between reason and violence. Medea is deliberately portrayed as not a ‘normal woman’, but excessive in her passions. Medea is a torment to herself and to others; that is why Euripides shows her blazing her way through life leaving wreckage behind her. Euripides has presented Medea as a figure previously thought of exclusively as a male- hero. Her balance of character is a combination of the outstanding qualities of Achilles and Odysseus.
Throughout the play different characters, especially that of the chorus helps contribute to how the different view of Medea’s character changes and develops. With the indirect/direct characterization of Medea with other characters being used to characterize her, the audience begins to develop an idea as to why she did what she did, and how she justified the mix of emotions she had. Medea is a women passion, so enraged by betrayal so dear to her heart, that she acts based on her passion and rage even when these irrational thoughts controlled her to kill her own brother, her own children, Glauce and her father, king Creon. She followed through.
“Medea,” a play by Euripides, depicts the difficulties that befall women and how their suffering from mistreatment, turned her to commit violent and terrible transgressions. Medea’s display of ceaseless demoralized actions led to the death of nearly her entire family. The text depicts powerless women that live under the rule of their husbands in a male-dominated society. Medea rises against societal norms during this time by her strong belief in her own ideas, she rises to power, and begins to challenge the idea of a strong, heroic character. The character Medea shows great power by rejecting her gender role that society placed her in.
In ancient Greece women were viewed as many things. They were not viewed as equivalent to males by any means. Women were portrayed usually as submissive domestic, and controlled. They played supporting or secondary roles in life to men, who tended to be demanding of their wives, but expected them to adhere to their wishes. In the tragedy Medea, written by Euripides, Medea plays the major role in this story, unlike most Greek stories with women playing only minor roles, but she also demonstrates many behavioral and psychological patterns unlike any other Greek women. In Euripides’ Medea the main character, Medea, Displays many traits that breakdown traditional Athenian misogyny by displaying her as proactive in taking her revenge, having cruel and savage passions, and being a very manipulative women.
Euripides shows his views on female power through Medea. As a writer of the marginalized in society, Medea is the prime example of minorities of the age. She is a single mother, with 2 illegitimate children, in a foreign place. Despite all these disadvantages, Medea is the cleverest character in the story. Medea is a warning to the consequences that follow when society underestimates the
Ironically, Medea’s actions are similar to a man when she takes charge of her marriage, living situation, and family life when she devices a plan to engulf her husband with grief. With this in mind, Medea had accepts her place in a man’s world unti...
Charlotte Bronte once said, “Women are supposed to be very calm generally, but women feel just as men feel. They need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do. They suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow minded in their more privileged fellow creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags” (Bronte). In the play Medea, Euripides diverged from the traditional role of Greek women through Medea’s characteristics and response to her plight. In delineating the role of women, Medea was unlike any other Greek character. Medea was portrayed as capable and resilient woman who would refuse to back down no matter the obstacles. Nevertheless, women in the Greek culture had very few rights. Housework and bearing children were their main obligations. They were basically no better than slaves. In the ancient Greek society, Medea would not fit well among fellow Greek women. Her role as a woman in the play was downtrodden. However, her determination and courage caused people to fear her. She was a woman who turned her back on her family and killed her own brother in order to help her husband.
Medea and Lysistrata are two Greek literatures that depict the power which women are driven to achieve in an aim to defy gender inequality. In The Medea, Medea is battling against her husband Jason whom she hates. On the other hand, in Aristophanes' Lysistrata, the protagonist Lysistrata plotted to convince and organize the female gender to protest against the stubbornness of men. In terms of defining the purpose of these two literatures, it is apparent that Euripedes and Aristophanes created characters that demonstrate resistance against the domination of men in the society.
...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.
Euripides created a two-headed character in this classical tragedy. Medea begins her marriage as the ideal loving wife who sacrificed much for her husband's safety. At the peak of the reading, she becomes a murderous villain that demands respect and even some sympathy. By the end, the husband and wife are left devoid of love and purpose as the tragedy closes.
Euripides’ style of work mostly focus on personal issues and dilemmas. He portrayed the flaws of humans and heros in his plays during ancient Greek, thus he was not a very popular writer during his time. As shown in one of his famous work, Medea, centralizes on the characters Medea and Jason and their broken marriage and erratic behaviors. Euripides use his main characters to express his opinion of Greek society during his time. In Medea, he uses Medea and Jason to express his concern of the disfunction of marriage, divorce, and vengeance. He reveals the flaws of Medea and Jason as he develops through the play. Medea and Jason made decisions that hurt each other, their marriage, and other victims. They justified their wrongdoings not because they were saving themselves, because they
Culture creates difference in gender through social issues such as marriage, education, childbearing and employment. Women in many of today’s cultures are represented by the roles they choose rather than have imposed on them, although sexism is an ongoing issue presented in everyday life. Medea has little choice on her represented role due to society in that period of time. She uses her manipulative ability and cleverness to get what she wants. Her life is made difficult due to society’s restrictions and is stereotyped into many things in which she is not. This clearly shows that women’s lives are represented by the roles they either choose regarding social restrictions or the roles they have imposed on them.
... takes matters into her own hands and doesn’t wait for a man to handle things for her. Also, her internal conflict that is visible throughout the entire play signify that she actually thinks for herself, and is strong enough to need to make serious decisions on her own, regardless of her gender. All of this goes back on the traditional Greek society, and helps make Medea into a play that is ahead of its time. With Euripides challenging the notion of misogyny, he creates Medea to show how powerful and dangerous a woman can be in a story, even though it was never heard of in the modern eras.