medea
... A similar progression can also be followed in Euripides Medea. Medea is a play about a woman, Medea, who is betrayed by her husband, Jason, and expelled from the city. ... Though Medea possesses certain traits of a victim and a heroine, it is impossible to identify her character as solely one of these. ... Medeas position as a victim of fate is already defined by the first lines of the play, in which the nurse tells the tale of Medea and Jason so far. Medea had, through Heras influence, fallen in love with Jason and given up her home, killed her brother, and taken various risks upon her to save him and live with him in a foreign country (1-15). ... According to the nurse, Medea had gone through the entire adventure to retrieve the Golden Fleece and defied her household only to be deserted by him and left "slighted, and [crying] aloud on the Vows they had made to each other, [. ... After a long discussion in which Medea pleas to Creon and finally succeeds in getting permission to stay for one day, the chorus of Corinthian women remarks that "a god has thrown suffering upon [her] in waves of despair" (358-9). Here one can once again see that it is the fellow women who feel sorry for Medea and go beyond the prejudices against foreigners to recognize the terrible fate of which she has become a victim. ... It is the identification with Medea that leads the chorus to see her heroic traits and even admire her as an avenger for all women. ... The chorus views Medea as a victim of ill fate and is naturally inclined to support her. Though this statement is made before the chorus finds out about Medeas brutal scheme, it must be noted that the chorus reaffirms its support for Medea after she has revealed her plans. After a monologue in which Medea finally does reveal her plan and ponders about how to implement it, the chorus delivers an ode about the oppression of women: "Flow backward to your sources, sacred river, and let the worlds great order be reversed [. ... In this ode, the chorus condemns the oppression of women and encourages Medea to pull through with her plan. ... Medea acts as a kind of a revolutionary saviour to them. ... In an extensive monologue, Medea wavers but finally overcomes her feelings of love and sympathy and comes to the conclusion that she must kill her children (995-1053). This act theoretically puts Medea into the position of a martyr, who is willing to sacrifice more than just her life for her cause. Practically, however, it is this last step that causes Medea to finally lose the support of the chorus. ... Medea shows no sign of guilt, remorse, or pity. ... Finally, the brutality of the means that Medea uses to get revenge suffices to classify her as a villain. ... With the murder of her children, Medea has reached the climax of her villainy. ... The Nurse reminds us that Medea is here because she followed Jason back to Greece out of love. ... Without knowledge of the backstory, the Medea cannot be properly understood.) Passion and love motivated Medea to help Jason: it is thanks to her and her mastery of arcane arts that he won the Golden Fleece. ... This theme is very typically Greek, and in Medea it overlaps with the theme of passion. ... Medea sets up parallels between pride and passion: both make Medeas great acts possible. ... Medea points out many specifics of Greek life that are nearly universal to pre-industrial societies. ... Medea makes herself the spokeswoman for the suffering of women, and by this act she secures the loyalty and secrecy of the Chorus. ... Euripides may be deeply critical of male-dominated Greek order, and he may be deeply sympathetic to the position of women, but he does not grant Medea and the women of Corinth the moral high ground. Medea may earn our sympathies in her first speech, but she will soon be revealed as a terrifyingly self-centered and ruthless woman. ... Medea, for the sake of her husband, has made herself an exile. ... Jason, hero of the Golden Fleece (although Euripides emphasizes that Medea was the true agent behind the success of the quest) is now a wanderer. ... When emphasizing the circumstances women must bear after marriage (leaving home, living among strangers), Medea is reminding us of the conditions of exile. ... Medeas foreignness is emphasized from the start: the Nurse, from the very opening lines, reminds us that Medea comes from a distant and exotic land. ... Throughout the play, we hear again and again that Medea is different from Greek women. Jasons marriage to Medea can be seen as an attempt to bring the adventure home with him. Medea describes herself as "something he won in a foreign land" (l. ... In Medea, they lead to chaos. ... Medea tells Creon that it is better to be born stupid, for men despise the clever. ... Eleanor Wilner calls Medea "a Machiavel without a country to rule" (4). ... Medea is despised for talents that should win her praise; she is also terrifyingly free. ... Medea is a complex and fascinating character. ... The loss of Jason is not only a matter of passion; Medea has been completely humiliated by Jasons decision to take a new bride. ... Medea has a powerful effect on the Chorus; she has made them complicit to her plans, and as soon as she promises that she will have her revenge the Chorus responds with glee. ... He is an opportunistic man; as in the past, when he used Medea, he now uses the family of Corinth for gain. In their bickering, Jason and Medea show two different ideas of marriage. ... Medea, though she earlier described marriage as a kind of bondage, still speaks of a more idealistic fashion. She speaks of vows and reciprocity; Jason brushes this talk aside, and treats Medea as if she irrational. ... Many critics have speculated that Medea often speaks with Euripides rage: like Medea, Euripides was a genius who was not given his due. ... The Medea itself, now recognized as one of the greatest works of the ancient world, was beaten by now-forgotten plays. ... Though her pride may seem admirable in this case, the same pride will drive Medea to unspeakable acts. Medea is a complex and fascinating character. ... The loss of Jason is not only a matter of passion; Medea has been completely humiliated by Jasons decision to take a new bride. ... Medea has a powerful effect on the Chorus; she has made them complicit to her plans, and as soon as she promises that she will have her revenge the Chorus responds with glee.