Medea Morally Ambiguous Character Essay

In Euripides Medea, Medea is the morally ambiguous character. In part, Medea can be seen as good because she wanted to live with Jason and her two children in Corinth as a family and enjoy a happy life. So it is understandable that Medea becomes devastated and an emotional wreck after Jason leaves her for the princess. He claimed by marrying the princess, he could bring the children up in a well-being and make more royal children. Medea became a distressed. Hateful, and a bitter woman at Jason. Medea mentioned, “we women are the most unfortunate creatures.” Medea acknowledges that the women don’t have much choice in the marriage and if they want a good life, they need a man to control them. And that woman would be much better off if they had

husband than if they lack one. Medea is noted as bad because after the betrayal, she became obsessed with hurting Jason the way he wronged her.

She gave the children the dress she made and the diadem, submerged with poison and instructed her to give these gifts to the princess under the false impression that she wants to please her so she may convince her father to allow the children to stay in Corinth. After the death of the king and the princess, Medea kills her two children. The only time the children have spoken and they plead to live. There is no future for the children, to escape their mother’s wrath and anger and her drive to hurt and destroy everything and everyone that Jason loves and cares about. Medea contributes to the work as a whole because we see her side of the story and understand the motives behind her action and the consequences as the result of her madness. Medea is the rising action and the climax of the play. We also see Jason side of the story from his conversations with Medea and his explanation was awful. He is the reason for the conflict and issues for Medea but Jason does not take care of the problems he created nor does he take the responsibility for the consequences of his actions. He married a sorceress and not a normal Greek

woman. Jason had this outcome coming for the deed of his actions but the aftereffect was tragic. If Jason had not caused the complications, perhaps he could have avoided the tragedy and Medea would not have abided the catastrophe. She may not have cared for the king and his daughter but there must some mental damage caused from murdering her children. Between loving them too much and wanting them to grow up to trying her hardest to forget that these two boys are her children and having the mental toughness to bring herself to kill the very beings that she gave birth to.