In the play, a barbaric woman who suffered a great deal of loss seeks revenge and uses the vulnerability of three foolish men: Jason, Creon, and Aegeus to further her agenda. With manipulation, brutality, and scheming Madea successfully pinpointed and took advantage of each man’s weakness. Although it is perceived that Jason, the father of Medea’s sons, married Creusa for selfish reasons, Jason insisted that he did it out of his children’s best interest. His sacrifices for his children make it obvious that Jason somewhat cares for his sons.…
When Jason and Medea marry they both take oath in front of the gods. By leaving Medea, Jason breaks his oath and upsets the gods. Throughout the play when Medea tells her plans to the chorus they respond with “If your husband reveres a new bed, a new bride, don’t sharpen your mind against him. You’ll have Zeus himself supporting you.” The women believe that since Jason has left her and began a relation with a new woman that Zeus has granted her the right to take revenge.…
The moral of the story is that men should not mistreat their wives, as it could have dire consequences. Another could be that, especially to the Ancient Greeks, women should not be allowed power. If Medea hadn’t been a powerful Enchantress, she likely would not have committed the harmful acts she had done. Stapf 2 “Happy wife, happy life,” exists for a reason. Medea had already given everything for her first husband, Jason.…
It was a doomed decision from the beginning. Unlike Medea, who saw their bond as a lawful, emotional and one of loyalty, Jason did not see their marriage as one. His lack of rationality and self-interest caused his own self-destruction. His willingness to marry other women proves that he held no attachment of any sort to Medea. Jason’s marital relationship was unstable since the beginning because of the lack of communication and different ideals and reasonings both him and Medea sought as a…
Medea gave up everything, even her humanity, just to be loyal to Jason, but in return, he chooses to leave her for another woman. Cheating on her was not enough though, he added insult to injury…
He moaned, and wrapped her in his arms, and kissed her.” “There they lie, two corpses, a daughter and her aged father, side by side, a disaster that longs for tears.” The rage inside of Medea and the want to “ruin Jason’s household” she will that the lives of her own two children. The children’s death will “wound my husband the most deeply.” “On this day fortune has bestowed on Jason much grief, it seems, as justice has demanded.”…
Before her situation appeared she was completely satisfied with her being a house wife, it is until all of that is taken away from is when she becomes crazed. By examining the patriarchy and misogyny presented in Medea we are able to comprehend and exploit Medea true intention and desires. Similar to Medea we can take a male character and examine his motivations/ desires as well through the lenses of patriarchy and misogyny. In Medea there is Creon who acts for the greater good, he seeks and demand justice. Before his daughter’s death Creon wants to banish Medea from Corinth land.…
Two of Euripides’ plays, Medea and Alcestis have many similar themes, but with many differences. They deal with topics such as the role of women and their expectations by men. The characters are very similar in many aspects, but different when it comes to actions and expectations. Medea and Alcestis have many similarities, but are about as different as can be when it comes to the expectations of women in Ancient Greece. Alcestis is the personification of the perfect woman, loving, caring for her children, obedient, loyal, everything a Greek man could want in a wife.…
Gender roles have historically been fairly standard, men provide for their family and the women are simply their husband’s property. Many old-time plays and stories embrace this simple concept, men over women. However, Euripides’ Medea shatters the concept of gender roles by having a woman, Medea, triumph over a man’s tyranny. Euripides description of Medea is that of a clever sorceress who will stop at nothing to achieve her goal. At the beginning of the story, Medea is depicted as a woman that’s madly in love with a man whose name is Jason, “ Then my mistress Medea would not have sailed to the fortress of Iolcus' land, her heart battered by love for Jason”.…
Medea and the patriarchy In Ancient Greece, most of the literature and writing were composed by elite, wealthy, and well-educated men. The play Medea, written by Euripides is no different than most of the plays of the time except for its subject matter. Medea is about Medea, a strong mother from a foreign land, who is cheated by her husband Jason. What is different about this play is that Medea does not act as a woman should according to the traditional customs of the time. Instead, Medea tries to break down the walls of injustice and point out the patriarchal society present, and the consequential oppression of women.…
For her husband, Medea made big sacrifices to include abandoning her nation and her family, and helping him all in the name of love. However, her husband is unable to understand her devotion. Jason’s dismissal of Medea not only leaves her distraught, but bitter and angry as well. Besides, this shows the difference that exists between Medea and Jason. Medea’s view on love is of total commitment and sacrifice.…
Medea is a Greek tragedy written by Euripides, and first performed in 431 BCE. Medea tells a story of a woman, Medea, who has been wronged by her husband, Jason. There are two main emotions in this play: love and hate. Euripides develops these emotions in such a way that the emotions become pitted against each other in an epic love versus hate showdown. Medea has a monologue (lines 1039-1080) in which she decides whether she wants to kill her kids or not.…
Medea feels that it is her duty to do what she feels was best for her family and just. She preforms her horrible actions largely, because she feels that Jason has betrayed his duty. Sophocles explains, “The father does not love his sons, but –his new wedding bed,” Medea followed her duty and behaved properly to Jason, until she was betrayed. This is explained by, “[Medea] was in everything Jason 's perfect foil, being in marriage that saving thing: a wife who does not go against her man,” Also, Sophocles suggest that Medea had to seek revenge because she felt Jason betrayed his duty. This is suggested when Medea pleas, “I even bore you sons—just to be discarded for a new bride.…
There exists between Medea and the Greek society a fundamental disjunction in the beliefs that they maintain throughout the entirety of the play. The state of Corinth concerns itself with preserving a façade of orderliness derived from rationality and order; on the contrary, Medea, “who left a barbarous land to become a resident of Hellas” is the embodiment of excess that the civilised world fears, ruled by passionate anger in her lust for revenge. She is forthright in that the emotions in her outward demeanour are aligned with her inner impulses. Euripides constructs Medea in a manner, uncharacteristic of the archetypal Greek woman founded upon pragmatism, who is commonly considered quiet, powerless and purposely unintelligent, Medea is a manipulative, conniving and “clever woman” and assumes a reserved exterior, whilst stifling her own emotions. In her commitment to revenge, Medea defies the expectations of Greek society and the role of women, transforming from the passive Medea, who is “scorned and shamed”, “[lying] collapsed” from the reins of reason imposed by society, into “a woman of hot temper”, who yields to the temptations of raw emotions.…
Medea is seeking revenge on Jason because he left her for another woman. This occurrence is not a rare one and unfortunately happens to many women. Medea does not take this easily and kills Jason’s bride. She could have stopped there. That seems like a big enough punishment for Jason, but she continues to destroy Jason.…