The play “Europides’ Medea” was about the revenge of a demigod after she had been
abandoned by her husband, Jason. During the play, Medea used various methods to take revenge on her husband. First, she killed the princess of Corinth, who is about to marry her husband, with poison. Then, the king Creon died with the princess because he also touched the poison. Last but not least, she killed her two children just to make Jason feel bad. That got me thinking, what if Medea didn't have any powers? What could she do as a woman who is deserted by her husband at a time period like that?
The story of Medea took place in Ancient Greek. At the time, people's lives, especially women's lives wore not worth very much. People with power can easily
kill someone and get away without any consequences. In the story, Medea was also banished from her homeland, which made her situation even worse. That means all she had was herself to depend on. Now, let’s imagine Medea without her powers. Someone who is abandoned by her husband. Living in a country with any family to to rely onto. Of course, she would be mad and try to make plans to revenge, but she can’t really do anything other than that.Without her powers, where can she get poison to kill the princess? Without her powers, how can she escape from the crime? 2 Plus, women back then were not taught to fight back but instead to obey.Would Medea have the courage to go against her husband’s will? Can she really do something that goes against her moral belief? At least I don’t think so, because she knows what her punishment will be if she carried out her plans. I don’t think Medea would be bold enough to go against her husband’s will without her powers. Nor would she be able to murder anyone for sake of revenge. Without her powers Medea would be a normal human being. Killing is not something a normal human would do after they are left by their husband. Most importantly, she wouldn’t have the ability to do so.
In ancient Greece, women lacked many of the fundamental rights held by men. Medea feels that this is unjust. These feelings are shown on page 195 when Medea states “...we must pay a great dowry to a husband who will be the tyrant of our bodies; and there is another fearful hazard: whether we shall get a good man or a bad. For separations bring disgrace on the woman and it is not possible to renounce one’s husband…” After being rejected by the one she loved, she beings to question the morals of those around her. She assumes that Greek women are weak and naive for allowing men to treat them this way; allowing men to cast them away at their heart’s content.
In Medea, the society is similar when it comes to men versus women. Barlow states that the “[h]usband have complete physical control of their wives,” which is similar to the society in Bacchae (Barlow 159). Medea is mistreated by almost all the men that she encounters within the play. Jason betrays her and leaves her to marry Creon’s daughter. Creon wants to banish Medea and her two sons from his land (Medea 272-273). When Creon is banishing Medea from his land he has no h...
In Euripides Greek tragedy, Medea, it is the civilised values of Greek culture, which govern all facets of Corinthian life, yet Medea’s triumph is not a celebration of such values, but a mockery of them. While on the surface, Medea’s triumph appears an act of personal revenge out of pure passion, the implications of her actions extend far beyond one individual to encompass an entire civilisation. In committing “vile” acts of infanticide, Medea not only absolves herself from the one- dimensional role of women in a patriarchal society, but also transcends the social orders of that society. Moreover, it also serves as a warning to sacrificing all reasoning and rationality, and allowing
Aphrodite, caring for only Jason, causes Medea to fall in love with him because of her known magical talents. To help Jason, Medea kills her own brother, betting that her father would stop for her brother’s body parts and allow her escape with Jason. While her escape plan works due to her innate sense of the way people react, Medea is now homeless. Still, the society expected Medea to give up everything for Jason, while he was allowed to ditch her with no social consequences. “And she herself helped Jason in every way. This is indeed the greatest salvation of all,-For the wife not to stand apart from the husband.” (Medea, pg. 616, line
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.
In Medea, a play by Euripides, Jason possesses many traits that lead to his downfall. After Medea assists Jason in his quest to get the Golden Fleece, killing her brother and disgracing her father and her native land in the process, Jason finds a new bride despite swearing an oath of fidelity to Medea. Medea is devastated when she finds out that Jason left her for another woman after two children and now wants to banish her. Medea plots revenge on Jason after he gives her one day to leave. Medea later acts peculiarly as a subservient woman to Jason who is oblivious to the evil that will be unleashed and lets the children remain in Corinth. The children later deliver a poisoned gown to Jason’s new bride that also kills the King of Corinth. Medea then kills the children. Later, she refuses to let Jason bury the bodies or say goodbye to the dead children he now loves so dearly. Jason is cursed with many catastrophic flaws that lead to his downfall and that of others around him.
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.
so she can't devise a plan and carry it out. When Medea is talking to herself in lines 1256-1259, the readers find out what she did when she said: "On her head the royal bride already wears the poisoned crown. That dress is killing her." In lines later in the play, a messenger comes to Medea to inform her of what happened in Creon's palace and the news excites her because she was able to kill both the King and his daughter. By doing so, Medea leaves Jason without a wife, and any hope of becoming King someday.
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.
When the witches don’t get what they want, as many women tend to, they tend to lash out and seek revenge. In Medea’s case this happens more than once, but the effect seems to be congruent in all instances. Medea does not hesitate to kill if she stands to gain from the death whether it be the death of someone or something standing in her way or the death of someone or something who has done her wrong. In aiding Jason and attempting to get away with him and the golden fleece, Medea murders her very own brother, Apsyrtus, in attempts to delay the pursuit of their ship by those of her father (Ogden 85; sec 445). Not only does she help murder her brother to further her own escape, but she ruthlessly cuts his body up into pieces and casts them into the sea.
... 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.
In Greek society, the role of women was considered to be insignificant compared to the Greek men. The women had very few rights, no room to voice personal opinions, and a very bleak future with few options for a better life. According to Moses Hades, professor of Greek studies, women in ancient Greek plays are known to be the main characters and take the role of the villain, victim, or the heroine. In Euripides’ play Medea, Medea, the main character, plays all these roles. She represents the heroine by helping her husband secure the Golden Fleece prior to their marriage, and then portrays the victim by being betrayed by her husband, and finally the villain by murdering her loved ones. Therefore, Euripides follows the standard format for a Greek tragedy.
She sails away with Jason after being exiled, but now after all she has sacrificed for him, he dishonors her and leaves her for the princess of Corinth. “Jason has cast aside his children and my mistress, and now goes to bed in a royal marriage with the daughter of Creon who governs this land” (Euripides l 16), demonstrating how lonely Medea is after being left husbandless. When loneliness strikes and madness overshadows reason and mercy, she is forced to take matters into her own hands by doing all in her power to make Jason miserable. “And Medea, in despair, rejected by her husband, howls out "the oaths he swore" and calls upon the right hand, a potent symbol of fidelity, and invokes the gods to witness Jason's treatment of her” (Euripides l 19). She believes the only way to get revenge is by making him feel as lonely and as devastated as she feels....
Although Medea killed and did things that people felt were wrong it is evident that through out the play that along with her other characteristics, she was a caring and loving person. The first time we are shown this is when we discover everything she did for Jason. If she did not love him she would not have done those things. We are also shown that Medea can be a caring person by the love that she had for her children. Although she killed them in the end during the play she was a mother to her children, she showed affection to them, and she did think twice before she killed them. It is because Medea was a caring and loving person that she did what she did. Her feelings were hurt and her heart was broken; and she did what she felt she had to do to hurt Jason for hurting her.
Medea's plan was set into motion. She has nothing to loose. She is even angrier because she betrayed her own father and her people for him. She even bears the burden of having Pelias killed by his daughters for Jason. She decides to take revenge out on Jason's bride and poisons her. She also doesn't want Jason to take the children from her. She decides to kill them, but agonizes over this decision before killing them. Some critics view this as a pathetic attempt at motherhood. I know there is a certain bond between mother and child. She just wants to hurt Jason as much as she has been hurt. "She first secures a place of refuge, and seems almost on the point of bespeaking a new connection. Medea abandoned by the entire world, was still sufficient for herself." (blackmask).