Condemnation of Medea

Medea is an impeccable example of a woman being controlled by the ravaging effects of love. Unfortunately, those effects lead Medea to commit a serious transgression: murder. She takes the life of not only a king and his daughter, but also of two of her own children. Although the king’s death was more of an adverse consequence than a direct murder, Medea planned all of their deaths down to the last detail.

Medea’s nurse observes Medea’s transformation from a jilted lover to an enraged murderer from the beginning. At one point the nurse says, “She’ll not stop raging until she has struck at someone” (4). She realizes Medea’s extreme emotional turmoil but can do nothing to soothe her. The nurse can provide a firsthand account of Medea’s slow descent into moral destitution. She sees how upset and angry Medea is at Jason but unfortunately does not realize the severity of the situation until it’s too late. The nurse is with Medea when she makes the decision to murder King Creon, his daughter, and her own children. Medea confided in the nurse saying, “You I employ on all affairs of great...