Greek Treatment Of Women In Medea By Euripides

Superficially, Medea is a critique of relations between men and women, the struggle between Jason and Medea; then the struggle between Creon and Medea. However at the deeper level, Medea is a critique of the quality and state of the contemporary culture of Euripides (Arrowsmith 361). The unique symbolism is that

Although Medea, like many women, gives up her family, home, and body for her marriage. Medea feels that “of all things we women are the most unfortunate creatures,” (8) and further discusses the difficulties and unjust situations women face such as “for there is not easy escape for a woman, nor can she say no to her marriage” (8) and how men do not use the same rules. For example, Medea feels that “what applies to me does not apply to you” (9). She seems envious of the freedom men possess.

For the women in ancient Greece, justice was far from reach. In the Greek society, men were allowed to abandon their wives in order to marry younger ones and Medea was not invulnerable to this fate. Despite all of her devoutness to her husband, he relinquished her for someone new. “Oh how unhappy I am, how wretched my sufferings. Oh woe is me. I wish I could die”, Medea cried out at the horrendous news (page 3, line 9). Euripides created a tragedy that many women during the ancient Greek time could relate to.

Medea's identity as a weak woman is emphasised at the very start of the play. It is made very clear that she has come to misfortune through no fault of her own and is powerless in her problem ("her world has turned to enmity"). Being unable to change her situation is an example of her portrayal as a weak woman figure. We are told that she has been

Medea is the tragic story of a woman desperate for revenge upon her husband, after he betrayed her for another woman’s bed. It was written by Euripides, a Greek playwright, in 431 B.C. Throughout the play each character shows us their inconsistent and contradicting personalities, in particular, Jason and Medea. The play opens with the Nurse expressing her anxiety about Jason betraying and leaving Medea for another, wealthier, woman. Our initial reaction is to feel empathetic towards Medea, who has been abandoned so conveniently. But towards the end of the play, when Medea takes revenge on

According to the Ancient History Encyclopedia, in Ancient Greece women were expected to be dependent on their husbands and “were expected to rear children and manage the daily requirements of the household” (Cartwright). They couldn’t leave their husbands, but were left powerless if their husband chose to leave them. In Medea, Medea explains her scarcity of options as a woman when her husband leaves her for another woman; “But I am deserted, a refugee, thought nothing of by my husband” (Euripides, 9). At this point, Medea seems to fit the stereotype of being dependent on her husband. However later in the play, Medea completely opposes the conventional roles set for her by killing her children in order to gain power over her husband. By doing this, she

Medea questions the firmly held belief in Greek society that women are weak and passive. Wanting revenge on Jason for his betrayal of her, Medea must take control of the situation, a stereotypical masculine quality. Though she cannot become a man or take power like a man, she perceives her

Medea’s conflict with Jason proves to be the main conflict in the play, which really sheds light into the fact that Euripides created this play to challenge the notion of feminism. After Jason’s betrayal, Medea decides to take control. It is evident in the way she manipulates other characters within the play, and how she handles situations she is in, that she is quite intelligent. Her motivation and will to accomplish her own goals, portrays Medea as the complete opposite of a typical patriarchal woman who embodies the norms of patriarchy in Greek society. In the play, Jason says, “I married you, chose hatred and murder for my wife – no woman, but a tiger…” (1. 1343-44) This quote shows the misogyny with Jason, because he is saying that him and the society have made Medea this way. But maybe Medea started acting

The duty of women portrayed in Greek society is a major subject in Euripides Medea. In old Greek society, ladies are delicate and compliant as per men, and their social position is viewed as exceptionally mediocre. Feminism is the hypothesis of men being viewed different in contrast to women and the male predominance over ladies in the public eye. Women's lives are spoken to by the parts they either pick or have forced on them. This is obvious in the play Medea by Euripides through the characters of Medea and the medical attendant. During the day and age which Medea is set ladies have exceptionally restricted social power and no political power by any stretch of the imagination, despite the fact that a ladies' maternal and residential power was regarded in the protection of the home, "Our lives rely upon how his lordship feels." The constrained power these ladies were given is diverse to present day society yet parts are as yet forced on ladies to acclimate and be a devoted spouse. Ladies have dependably been dis engaged because of their sex in present day and antiquated circumstances alike. In Corinth they are required to run the family unit and fit in with social desires of an obedient spouse. Medea, being an eternal and relative from the divine beings has a specific power in insight and guileful keenness. Being an outsider, Medea's wayward nonsensical conduct was normal in this play as she was not conceived in Greece and was viewed as an exotic foreigner. She goes over to the group of onlookers as an intense female character regarding viciousness. Some of Medea's responses and decisions have all the earmarks of being made a huge deal about as creators for the most part influence characters to appear to be overwhelming; this makes a superior comprehension of the content and the issues which are produced through the characters. Medea's ill-conceived marriage and the double-crossing of Jason drive Medea to outrageous vengeance. Medea acts with her immortal self and confer coldhearted demonstrations of murder instead of legitimize the results of her actions. Medea see's this choice as her lone resort as she has been exiled and has no place to go, "stripped of her place." To make sensitivity for Medea, Euripides

Medea’s identities as a victim as well as an avenger reveal the complex nature of revenge within the human condition. Following the conventions of a Greek tragedy, Medea, the heroine seeks what first seems of justice with a relatable cause, that “old love is ousted by new love” and that she is deserted. Euripides demonstrates empathy towards the victim aspect of Medea in his manipulation of an outsider’s view in the nurse’s soliloquy, “Poor Medea!” By establishing the significance of her foreign identity to the Ancient Greek society through her accusation, “Of course a stranger must conform”, the playwright develops the justification for her actions further on in the play. The depiction of Medea as a “foreign woman” who has none of her “own blood to turn to” in this moment of betrayal is expressed in the sympathy for the victims of classism.

Relationships are very important in life. They define who we are and what we are capable of. The relationship can either be with a significant other, family member, friend, or co-worker. A person should always try to have a good relationship with someone to avoid hurting themselves or others. If the person does not feel happy or have a positive thought towards another person, then move on to next thing in life that does make you happy. In Euripides’s Medea, the main character Medea is an evil woman who only wants to seek revenge to those who have done her wrong. The play paints a perfect image of a distorted relationship between an ex-wife and husband with children. Medea is depressed, angry, and cold-hearted towards the world. She lost her husband who left her for another woman. Her relationship with children and the people around her are no longer healthy or happy. Medea was once a happy woman when she had her husband, Jason by her side. In today 's world people like to live a happy life, but once a disaster comes upon their life, they do not know how to deal with pain and anger. The main social issue in the play is revenge, marriage relationship, and gender role. The play Medea is a great example on how relationships can affect people in a negative and hurtful way towards the people around you. Medea strived to be powerful over people, especially men.

Amongst Euripides' most famous plays, Medea went against the audience's expectations at his time. Indeed, the main character of the play is Medea, a strong independent female who neglected moral and . She was therefore in all ways different to how women were perceived in Ancient Greece. This essay will explore how Euripides' controversial characters demonstrate that his views were ahead of his time.

Another of Greco-Roman mythology’s strongest and most prominent female characters is Medea. Throughout her different iterations, Medea is shown to be closely associated with the female ability to give and withhold life. First of all, she was a disciple of Hecate who, aside from being the goddess of the moon, witchcraft, and crossroads (Brooks, Lesson 12: Perseus and Demeter), is described in Hesiod’s Theogony as a “nurse of the young” (455) and having the ability to “increase[e] stock in a pen [...] — if she wills in her heart she can multiply them or make them diminish” (446-449). Consistent with Hecate’s abilities, Medea’s plot against Pelias, described in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, revolves around her ability to give life by “return[ing] the vigor and bloom of youth” (7.215). Additionally, in Euripides’ Medea, she tells King Aigeus that she will “put an end to [his] childlessness” (716) and help him “beget heirs of [his] blood” (717) in order to ensure that Athens will grant her asylum after executing her revenge on Jason (679-758). Overall, Medea is shown to be a woman with great control over life. However, she does not only grant it, she also exercises her ability to take it away. Medea kills her own children as a part of her plan to take revenge on Jason, stating that “if die they must, I shall slay them, who gave them birth” (Euripides 63). She also kills Creon’s daughter, stating that “never shall [Jason] beget children by his new bride” (Euripides, Medea 803-804), which results in a complete loss of all his current and potential heirs. Ultimately, the play ends with Medea escaping without punishment for her actions, and this fact seems to affirm a mother’s rights over the life they have given. A similar situation can be found in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, where Procne kills her son and serves him to her husband, Tereus, for dinner as retribution for the rape and mutilation of her sister (6.620-674). It is a particularly fitting punishment as it violates Tereus’ body in a similar manner, by forcing him to contain something unwanted, and allows Procne and Philomela to retake the control that was stolen from them. Not only do both mothers kill their children — the one thing they have an inherent right to control

Medea’s strength is portrayed as her madness as she takes control and decides the fate of her enemies. She is a strong character and Euripides allows Medea to have a voice by allowing the audience to witness her break from the norm of what a woman of her time is expected to do. After giving up her family and former life to be with her husband, Jason, he decides to marry a younger princess while still married to Medea. Medea realizes that women are left to face the most miserable situations and says, “We women are the most unfortunate creatures” (229). Jason feels that Medea is to be grateful for what he is doing by marrying into royalty as it will afford all of them a better life. The representation of Medea by Euripides is powerful, manipulative, and extremely smart, yet because she is a woman she has limited social power.

Medea is a play featuring a title character who is a very unusual woman. Brad Levett’s essay “Verbal Autonomy and Verbal Self-Restraint in Euripides’ Medea” exemplifies the thoughts of three authors after discussing how Medea relates to a Greek hero that was invulnerable in all of his body except for one minor spot and/or the play resembling a Greek tragedy that narrated the fate of a warrior after memorable battles. These scholars believed that Medea “comes into conflict with that part of herself that would have been viewed as more feminine, most obviously her love for her children” (54). This is because at the end of the play Medea murdered her children to get revenge on her ex-husband who had betrayed their