Is Medea Justified In Her Actions? Is the killing of anyone ever justified? Is the life of one individual more important than another? In Euripides, Medea, Medea kills the princess of Corinth, the king of Corinth, Creon, as well as her own children. Are her actions the actions of an insane, distraught person or those of wise, foreign, barbaric woman trying to protect her children? Through the story of Medea, Medea justifies the killing of others while several other characters portray the injustice of her killings. Can a person show a justifiable reason to the killing of others or is the killing of others justified under certain circumstances? In the work prologue, we discover Jason 's quest to Colchis to obtain the Golden …show more content…
He even mentions that he didn 't leave her to betray her but he left her to support her and their kids; to give them a life they could enjoy, “My motive was the best; so we 'd live well and not be poor.” He goes on to tell her that all women are the same; as long as they are satisfied at home, life is well but “let there be some setback or disaster in the bedroom and suddenly you go against the things
Medea’s conversations in the Jeffers adaptation produce less of an importance than they execute in the Norton version. When speaking with Jason, Medea keeps her speeches brief and to the point. Moreover, her objective when speaking to Jason is to prey on his lack of wisdom and have him believe the words that are coming out of her mouth. She questions Jason without him acknowledging her future endeavors. “That is true: vengeance makes grief bearable. -But- Creon’s daughter, your wife- no doubt will breed many other boys. -but, if something were to happen to- Creon’s daughter- (56). Questioning Jason occurs as a tactic to figure out what she wants to know. Furthermore, she asks Jason regarding the children and Creon’s daughter to discern what
The beautifulness about Greek mythology adaptations is that they can be understood and reinterpretted into modern times and their situations. Cherrie Moraga’s The Hungry Woman is an adaptation of Euripides’ Medea. This story takes place in the future during which Aztlan goes through an anti-homosexual revolution. In this adaptation of the myth, Medea, her husband, their son Chac-Mool, and Medea’s girlfriend live near the border of Aztlan, in Phoenix (Moraga, ‘Setting’).
He meant nothing. She gives him children because she knows that is her duty as a wife, but she states she never asked for them (Faulkner 174).
He blames himself for her leaving, he always prayed at night for her to come back.
promises his utmost respect and loyalty in an attempt to make her want to leave with him. He
Throughout the orals on Medea by Euripides, my understanding of the play has grown tremendously. The explanation behind why Euripides used multiple sea and sun references was due to the placement of Corinth. Corinth was situated around water on both the east and west coast so the city could see both the sunrise and sunset over the water. I learned that the sun served numerous roles in the play. Since Greek plays were in a twenty-four hour format, the sun was key to telling the time of day. The sun was also important because according to background information, Medea was the granddaughter of Helios, The Sun God. This is the reason behind the golden gifts that Medea gave to Creon’s daughter and at the end of the play, when Medea received a chariot.
Argumentative Essay Rough Draft Filicide is the deliberate act in which a parent kills his or her own children. In Euripides’ Medea, Medea commits filicide along with murder of a princess. Medea was married to a man named Jason who divorced her and married the princess, Glauce. Medea was so upset by this that she killed his new wife and her and Jason's children.
Once he began manipulating Medea, this made him realize, that he can manipulate anyone he chooses to. After he had captured the Golden Fleece, he abandoned Medea and married the princess of Corinth hoping to stable his wealth and gain more power. He, in turn, manipulated the royal family only to have the consistent power he needed and desired. This had then begun to escalate. Jason is now displaying a pattern of his manipulation. As Jason begins to free himself from his “evil” ex-wife, Jason manipulates the past into a lie and much bigger problem from his side of the story. His dishonesty makes his side of the story more believable and by doing so, his manipulation skills had become more deceivable. Jason is in denial of the many things Medea had done for him and when he told his story, he used omission in order to deceive his listeners. Jason then says, “Dark threats cast out against the majesties/ of Corinth, count as veriest gain thy path of exile.” (27). He then blames Medea and having Creon ban her from Corinth.
Medea plans to kill her children instead of Jason. The main reason being that, by killing the children, it will cause Jason eternal pain. Medea’s position of citizenship also affects her emotional state and actions. Medea is an immigrant. She speaks on how she tried to blend in to this “strange Greek society” (7) and failed. I feel it is because of this failed effort that Medea finally understands that she is a foreigner—and also unwelcomed—and has no home to return to. It is for this reason I believe Medea continued with her plan. She had nothing to lose and had to leave Corinth anyways. Medea appears to be a very outspoken woman. On page 7, Medea expresses her opinions of the women of her time. Medea embodies the voice of women. She makes it sound
The shocking addition of having a mother slaughter her own children makes a dark story even darker, it deepens the revenge and shocks the moral of the audience. Euripides manipulates the audience through traditional Greek play techniques to increase the intensity of the revenge, by playing with our thoughts and inviting his audience to question the way their society lives. Through the Chorus of Corinthian women Euripides directs the audiences view of Medea. Throughout the play the Chorus voices their opinion, influencing the audience to their point. Originally the Chorus celebrates Medea's desire for revenge, chanting “To punish Jason will be just” (line 267, p. 25), the audience agrees with the Chorus, Jason should be punished. Once the Chorus become aware of her intentions they turn against her, attempting to make her see reason and in the final ode they condemn her while acknowledging that her actions are the manifestation of a greater power and thereby re enforce Euripides tragic theme. The Chorus's 5 stasimons and short interventions during the play direct the audience's thoughts and opinions. As a tragic heroine Medea is a creation unique to Euripides, the psychological study of a woman entirely consumed by love and hate. He reminds us that her love for Jason resulted in the betrayal of her father, the murder of her brother and the murder of Pelias. Rejected, mocked and betrayed, her pride and hatred of Jason cause the destruction
Diane Downs. Susan Smith. Andrea Yates. Casey Anthony (maybe). There is no shortage in current times of women who, just like Medea in hers, found themselves taking the lives of their children. A current theatrical production of Euripides’ The Medea will give audiences a long felt message, even though the play itself is set and costumed in classical times and without much overt spectacle.
Medea’s changing intention throughout this story demonstrate a psychologically consistent pattern of behaviour across events.
Euripides, writer of Medea, is an extremely well-known author for his literature of intense dramatic novelties that have fiercely influenced drama, “particularly in the representation of traditional, well-known heroes as ordinary people in extraordinary surroundings”. “He was born in 480 BC, died in 406 BC he’s occupation was playwrighting and wrote many novels such as Medea,, Hippolytus, Electra, and many more. Euripides also had two Spouses which names are Melite and Choerine, his parents were Mnesarchus and Cleito”.
What did you contribute to the class? Specifically, what did you do? How did you make Medea a better place for all the students here?
If I were to ask you if killing someone is justifiable, some will answer with a strong no and others like me might say it depends on what they did. However, that is a job for the police to investigate and figure out. No human being kills another without some sort of