Theme Of Women In Medea

1171 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The character of medea

In Euripides ' play, Medea, tells a short story of the sufferings of a woman 's marriage life. In the play, Euripides develops the character, Medea , who is mentally abused by her husband, Jason, to show how women are mistreated in the Greek society. Jason 's action of leaving his wife and marrying the princess causes Medea suffering and shows us his selfishness. Jason also is not a good father figure to his own sons causing Medea to take care of them herself and taking all the burden. This shows us Jason is uncaring towards Medea and his sons. Lastly, Jason did not help Medea with problems that they’re having, this seems like he is excluding them from his life and everything else. In this play, it shows how men don 't seem to protect their own family and causes sorrow for the women causing them to be mistreated by the men. In the Golden Fleece by Hamilton Edith , …show more content…

0729-0046 page 6 the men doesn’t seem to protect their family pride because Medea was banish and Jason didn 't even protect them and save his family’s pride. The character Medea, leaves an imprint on the readers that it 's unfair for the women in the Greek society where they have no power to do anything. The women were being mistreated by their own husbands and other men as well just because they are women. Medea is seen to be depressed, sad, and heartbroken by Jason. Having another woman proves the wrongdoings of a man. However the Greek society allows men to have the privilege to marry multiple wives, which the women have no saying in the situation. Through Jason 's action, it proves the injustice of women in the society world and how marriage life is for women during this time period.Since in the Greek society women didn’t have the freedom to speak out their own thoughts and feelings. Women were to follow the orders of their parents, for example forced marriage with another man. This led to unfairness for the women in the society and how they get mistreated by their own

Show More
Related

  • Gender Roles in Ancient Greek Society

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this play, Medea?s husband Jason has left her and their children to fend fo...

    Read More

  • Euripides Medea Vs. Greek Prejudices And Gender Roles

    1165 Words  | 3 Pages

    Because she does not hold the same beliefs and ideals of the women in her new society, this escalates the Greek’s skepticism of her and leads to further rejection. Jason explains to Medea that Greek women accept traditional societal roles and the duties placed on them by men when he says, “It is only natural for your sex to show resentment when their husbands contract another marriage. But your heart has now changed for the better. It took time, to be sure, but you have now seen the light of reason. That’s the action of a wise woman” (Page 209-210), but Medea strongly refutes these beliefs.

    Read More

  • Comparison Between The Bacchae and The Medea

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Medea And Sappho Comparative Analysis

    1160 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Indirect Characterization Of Medea

    989 Words  | 2 Pages

    Euripides uses indirect/direct characterization of Medea, the plays antagonist, to help the readers understand a deeper reason for the things she has done, including kill her own brother and children. Through the use of the chorus, and other minor factors, we, as the audience, get to mentally interpret Medea’s side of the problems she and Jason undergo, and try to understand what she is going through and how she feels. Does she do it out of spite or out of revenge? Was she really in love with Jason, and was he worth killing all of these people she so deeply cared about? Although Medea is portrayed as the villain in the play due to her actions and rage, indirect/direct characterization from herself, other characters, and most importantly, the chorus, all reveal a deeper understanding as to why Medea did what she did and how she felt in the midst of all these problems she faced.

    Read More

  • The Evil Character Medea in Euripides' Medea

    579 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Medea as a Heroine in Euripides

    344 Words  | 1 Pages

    Medea, a princess and sorceress, was from a small island in the Black Sea called Colchis. She met her husband Jason when she used her powers to help him secure the Golden Fleece. It was during this time that she fell in love with him and decided to leave her family and home so that she could be with Jason. The fact that Medea was willing to leave all that she knew for Jason is very brave. Women in Medea's time were normally given away to the men that they married. Medea, on the other hand, married Jason because she wanted to. That was a large risk for her to take and many women probably looked at it as a liberating and heroic act.

    Read More

  • Jason Brings His Own Downfall in Medea, a play by Euripides

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • medea

    455 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Representation of Womens Roles in Society- Medea

    1102 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Feminism and its Role in Medea

    1046 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... 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.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in Medea by Euripides

    1283 Words  | 3 Pages

    Even in today’s society, gender roles play a part in how people view the world. Although more important than the gender roles are the emotions that antagonize the psyche of the human. Medea shows how jealousy can lead to revenge and influence bad decisions and ruin or even end lives. Ironically, the decisions she makes to kill her children, leaves Jason helpless much like a Greek wife during this time. She removes the opportunity for him to voice his opinions, needs, and desires. This flip of traditional gender roles shows how gender roles are not a reliable way to view a society.

    Read More

  • The Character of Medea in Euripides

    368 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Medea By Euripides

    1328 Words  | 3 Pages

    The dramatic ending serves a purpose as he wants to point out the flaws for Greek marriage traditions. He revealed the sexism in Greek marriages with Jason and Medea. Jason was very domineering and also portrayed as the antagonist, thus making his wrongdoings very unforgiving. His justification of leaving Medea was unreasonable and only made his situation worse. Jason, once the hero, is satirized by Euripides. His actions are not seen as heroic, even if he thinks about the well being of his sons. Medea, on the other hand, can be sympathized at first by seen from suffering from the lost of her love to an unfair reason. Her erratic behavior was well justified, she had the right to grieve over everything she had lost. However, her act of revenge went out of hand. Her act of revenge was worse than Jason’s act of betrayal. Her revenge add a dramatic effect which was intended to send a message. Euripides brought up a taboo aspect of marriage and divorce in Medea to show the flaws in Greek belief. Marriages were not fair, as shown in Medea. The character Medea, was used to send message that there needs to be justice for

    Read More

  • The Importance of the Role That the Chorus Plays in Euripedes’ Medea

    1154 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

More about Theme Of Women In Medea

Open Document