Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Character of medea
Cultural context of media by Euripides
Essay on gender roles in literature
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Character of medea
In the classical age, women were expected to be meek and powerless creatures, and when they were not they were usually considered to be hysterical. Medea’s strength is portrayed as her madness as she takes control and decides the fate of her enemies. Medea breaks that rule in the manifestation of the madness that poisons her mind. Medea has left everything to be with Jason, she has even gone as far as forsaking her father and murdering her brother in order to leave with Jason, “Oh, my father! Oh my country! In what dishonor / I left you, killing my own brother for it” (164-65). This perhaps should have been a red flag for Jason in realizing how she killed her own flesh and blood and should have been an indicator for the evil that resided within her. Medea is in Jason’s turf and here she is considered a foreigner, she now defines herself via her marriage to Jason. Ultimately, when she loses him to a younger bride, she also loses her ability to be rational in her thinking. Euripides allows Medea to have a voice, and thus, gives insight into how what is happening affects her psyche. Medea’s madness spirals out of Jason’s actions to marry the young daughter of Kreon, who is the princess of Corinth. This leaves Medea in despair and those around her fear for her children. The nurse exclaims: Go indoors, children. That will be the best thing… Don’t bring them near their mother in her angry mood. For I’ve seen her already blazing her eyes at them As though she meant some mischief and I am sure that She’ll not stop raging until she has struck someone. (89-94) The nurse believes that she may harm the children and foreshadows their actual death. After she hears Medea cursing her sons she tries to sway Medea to more logical train of thoug... ... middle of paper ... ... powerful, manipulative, and extremely smart, yet because she is a woman she has limited social power. She has no chance of being a hero because she acts out of hurt in her marriage and love turned to hate. In Aeschylus’ Oresteia, Agamemnon also kills his child, although it is not praised, he is still considered a hero after his death. Medea is portrayed as being a selfish and ruthless woman, making her unnatural. Nevertheless, the audience finds themselves uncomfortably admiring Medea and her strength as a woman. Medea’s madness portrays how one’s emotions can lead to detrimental results rather than using reason. She is driven by her desire for revenge and will stop at nothing to burn her husband Jason as he did her. Works Cited Lawall, Sarah N. “Medea.” The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. 8th ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. 690-720. Print.
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.
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
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
Medea's first public statement, a sort of "protest speech," is one of the best parts of the play and demonstrates a complex, at times even contradictory, representation of gender. Medea's calm and reasoning tone, especially after her following out bursts of despair and hatred, provides the first display of her ability to gather herself together in the middle of crisis and pursue her hidden agenda with a great determination. This split in her personality is to a certain degree gender bias. The lack of emotional restraint is "typical" of women, and the strong attention to moral action is a common trait of heroes. Medea actually uses both of these traits so that her wild emotions fuel her ideals, thus producing a character that fails to fit into a clear mold.
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
Medea and Antigone are two stories of women fighting back for what they want, or what they feel is right. These stories take place in ancient Greece, around the time of its rise to power. Medea and Antigone are both strong, sometimes-manipulative characters but have different moral settings that control what they do.
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.
As Jacobs’s contribution to the American Journal of Psychotherapy named it, the “Medea Complex” (Jacobs. 2). The Medea Complex is the explanation for the downfall of Medea and her family. The famous Greek tragedy begins with Medea’s
At the law firm of Theban Associates, one of the lead partners is Antigone, she is a hard worker whose intentions usually consist of reaching a compromise between the government and her client. As a defense attorney, her line of work is quite demanding and difficult since she is a female working in a male dominated world. While being placed in this position, Antigone is able to appreciate how difficult things are for a woman in society, even in today's world. She realizes that regardless of the anti-gender bias laws that have been passed, society still views women as baby-machines and they are constantly degraded and viewed as inferior to man.
By the end, the husband and wife are left devoid of love and purpose as the tragedy closes. 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.
In Medea, Medea shows copious traits of an unstable individual, which I believe to be characterized by borderline personality disorder. “Borderline personality disorder is a mental health disorder that impacts the way you think and feel about yourself and others, causing problems functioning in everyday life. It includes a pattern of unstable intense relationships, distorted self-image, extreme emotions and impulsiveness” (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2015, p. 1). Throughout the various actions and emotions displayed by Medea, sorceress and wife of Jason, you can see the relevancy of borderline personality disorder on herself.
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.
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.
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.
... poor innocent children to cut all ties and flee to a harbor of safety. Ignoring the will of the children, and their cries of help, she struck them from this world. “What can I do and how escape from my mother’s hands?” p41. Medea is a cold blooded killer that is capable of the unthinkable. Disposing anyone in her path, betraying her own family and home, and putting her duties of a mother to shame. “O your heart must have been made of rock or steel, you who can kill with your own hand the fruit of your own womb.” p41. I beg the Jury to show not even a drop of compassion when the name Medea is present. And do not pity the beast, for pity only fuels her bloodthirst. Medea is a living demon and must be put to death this moment. O fair citizens of the Jury, strike this hellish creature where it stands or the God’s themselves will intervene and purge her from this world.