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Male role in ancient Greece
Jason in Euripides play Medea
Jason in medea essay
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In the play Medea, Jason would be considered to be somewhat of a villain. He is also play the role of the antagonist. The strengths and weaknesses Jason shows are somewhat of any man of his time period. The strength that is displayed would have to be his want for power. He talks about how he is marrying the princess to gain power so that his family to live comfortably and not have to be poor. When Jason was to marry Glauce, that their sons would have a place in society. He was only trying to protect his family, but at the same time he did not plan to hurt Medea as bad as he did.
The weakness Jason displayed was foolishness and selfishness. The foolishness is the way, Medea is able to deceive him so easily. He gets manipulated by Medea into asking Glauce to let his sons stay in Corinth and unknowingly delivering the cursed gifts. The selfishness is he cares more about himself than he does others. He is a shallow man, that although he clams to think of his family when marrying Glauce he first thought of himself as being powerful.
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She was the women that stood by his side and did anything for him. She lost everything just to be with him because they were in love. Medea felt so much love for this man the she stole and killed her own brother for him. Jason should have considered her feeling when he decided to leave her. I also feel Jason could have saved his children instead of abandon them. He talked about how he was trying to make better lives for them. I feel that abandon them was not the way to do it. When he divorced Medea, not only was she paying for it but the children where as well. The divorce effected them as
Standards that women are held accountable and judged for while men it is acceptable for this behavior. In Medea 's situation, to prove her love to Jason she did whatever she needed to do to be with him and did not let anyone step in her way. She gave birth to two boys which would continue Jason 's bloodline however, that was not enough for Jason as he left Medea for his new Glauce. Jason 's main priority was to gain higher social status that leads to title, money, and land as well as having children as his legacy. Within Sappho she states, “Why am I crying? Am I still sad because of my lost maidenhead?” (Sappho, 36). After losing her virginity, she lost insight of her vision which she wanted her future to be as she received mistreatment from society including her relationship with her lover changing. In that result, within their situations they were incapable of maintaining their relationship with their lovers as well as love and sex not being enough to endure life
Medea was married to Jason and had two kids with him, while she thought her world was everything she could possibly want, it didn’t exactly turn out perfect. Jason was put under a spell to fall in love with Medea so she would help him conclude his journey and kill for the golden flees, which he succeeds in. When he returned he had already found a bride besides Medea, and that time it was perfectly normal to marry another bride. Medea sought revenge by killing her two children and his bride to be, so she left Jason with nothing. Medea then at the end rode off into the sunset on a chariot by the gods.
Even though Medea’s crime are despicable, Jason is also a despisable character. When he encounters Medea for the first time in the play, he says, “Even if [Medea] hates me / I could never think badly of [Medea]” (Euripides 462-463). It is easy for Jason to say these kind words because he is not the one being abandoned for another spouse. He also undermines Medea again after she recites how she helped him in on the Ship Argo. Instead of giving her any credit or appreciation, Jason confesses, “since you make such a mountain of it, I think that Kypris, god of love, was the savior” (Euripides 525-526). It is not enough to leave Medea for another woman while allowing her and her children to be exiled, but Jason also felt the need to discredit her contribution to his
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.
A main trait of Jason’s is his obliviousness to everything. Jason doesn’t realize that Medea is crying for a different reason and thinks that whatever he says is right when he asks Medea, “Why is your cheek so white and turned away from me? Are not these words of mine pleasing for you to hear?” (p.55). Jason lacks mindful attention to what is happening around him. Jason was smart enough before to know that Medea is evil and even says that she is “incapable of controlling her bitter temper” (p.43). Mede...
Both of these two male characters are not title roles. They both fall prey to the actions of a woman, one whom they both originally thought they had complete control over. Antigone's martyrdom and conflict with the State brings Creon's destruction and Medea's double murder and infanticide brings his destruction. However, how much is this brought about through their own weakness and how much can we attribute this to a cruel fate? The issue is essentially whether a stronger person than Jason or Antigone could have avoided the destruction, and were they crushed by their own internal weakness ('hamartia'). An important to clarify is that we are not judging their personality. A despot can be a strong character and a man of high morals can be a weak character. The deciding factor is how rigidly they cling to their ideals and their ability to listen to others sensibly.
Courageous, powerful, and reckless, Medea left her home without her father's blessing to accompany Jason to the land of Corinth, after using her magic powers to slay the dragon that guarded the golden fleece. She also killed her own brother to slow Jason's chasers. For a while, Medea and Jason lived in harmony in Corinth where they had two children. Later, Jason left Medea for Kreon's daughter. She became grief-stricken at her loss and filled with rage at Jason's betrayal. This, is explained by her nurse during the prologue in World Literature Volume A (pg697), "she'll not stop raging until she has struck at someone",
In The Medea, Medea gives up her home, murdered her brother and tossed the pieces of his corpse and betrays her family to escape with her lover Jason. Against her father's wishes she helps Jason recover the Golden Fleece. Afterwards, Medea and Jason fall in love, get married and Medea gives birth and raises two sons. Unfortunately, Jason abandons Medea and marries King Creon's beautiful daughter. Medea alternates her role from a lover and partner in crime to an obsessive prideful monster. Me...
In Medea, a woman betrays her homeland because of her love for a man. Jason is the husband that she ferociously loves and makes sacrifices for. They have two children together: Antigone and Ismeme. In Jason's quest for the golden fleece, Medea assists him in multiple ways. One of the things she does to help their cause is bring about the death of her own brother. Certainly this is a woman who would sacrifice anything for her husband. Weigel records the fierceness of Medea's passion in his critique: "As a woman of passion, Medea is wholly committed to Jason as the object of her emotional life, whether in love or hate. When she loved Jason she did not hesitate to kill her brothe...
When Jason left Medea to marry Glauce, Medea was plagued with sadness and then with anger. The man she loved, the man that she gave up her life for, had betrayed her. In the patriarchal society that Medea lived in, it was not acceptable for a woman to protest any decision made by her husband. Medea went against all social standards and took revenge on Jason for the wrongs that he had committed. She was willing to take any chance and sacrifice even her most valued possessions. Medea knew that the best way to avenge the wrongs of Jason was to kill Glauce and the children. It was a huge sacrifice for Medea to kill the children that she loved, but she allowed herself to look past that love and only see her hate and contempt for Jason. Medea was willing to go against every rule that society set, so that her husband wouldn't get away with leaving her for political reasons.
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.
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...
Medea is a tragedy of a woman who feels that her husband has betrayed her with another woman and the jealousy that consumes her. She is the protagonist who arouses sympathy and admiration because of how her desperate situation is. I thought I was going to feel sorry for Medea, but that quickly changed as soon as I saw her true colors. I understand that her emotions were all over the place. First, she was angry, then cold and conniving. The lower she sinks the more terrible revenge she wants to reap on Jason.
Because Medea was such a different woman people in her society were afraid of her, including men. As a result of this, before Jason, she never experienced being in love. When she finally experienced this type of love she went to no end for Jason. To protect Jason and her love for him she killed the beast guarding the Golden Fleece, she killed her brother, and she left her home, family and everything she knew for him. Most women would not have gone that far for love, especially women during her time; but Medea was not your average woman. All of the things she did for Jason will come into play, and partly account for her actions at the end of the play.