Binary Opposition
In Greek tragedy there are many themes that are contrasted with each other. This is known as binary opposition, which s defined as a contrast of themes that are the opposite poles of each other. There are many conflicts in Euripides’ Medea and Bacchae: perhaps the three most conspicuous oppositions are rational versus irrational, foreigner versus natives, and stereotypical dichotomy of female and male.
The first binary opposite in Euripides plays are rational versus irrational thinking, his characters are changing constantly within the plays; there are a couple of characters that stays in a rational thinking which they do not favor any side of the conflict. In Medea, Euripides showed rational thinking through the Chorus, who are married Corinthian women; they lend Medea support in time of need and gives advice as a friend and not as foe, when she would talk and act irrationally (Medea 173-82). The Chorus does agree that “[Jason] wrongs and betrays” Medea by breaking their oath of marriage (Medea 131-42; 208, MLA unit 6 info from). But they do not take it to the extreme thinking as Medea does and explains to her that if she does go through with her plans of revenge that “no city, no friend, will pity [Medea’s] pain” (Medea 657-58). The Chorus even advises her that killing her children and her enemies is wrong and just to “give up [her] plan[s]” (Medea 813).
In the same way, Euripides’ play the Bacchae has rational and irrational thinkers, they are Cadmus the old king and Tiresias the prophet, and on the contrary of rational is the irrational thinkers who are Pentheus the current king and Dionysus the god. Cadmus and Tiresias are the only two men who stay rational throughout the play. They agree that there is ...
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...ety. In Euripides play Medea, she uses the stereotype of woman to gain trust, an extra day in Corinth, and what is expected of the men and women in society. The conversation between Creon and Medea, “[he] orders [her] to go from this land,” but Medea starts to use the submissive woman on the king as to gain a day. She told the king” not to be afraid of me, Creon, I haven’t the means to do harm to men who are the rulers,” and manipulating king to let her stay one more day in Corinth because of her children to “have pity on them!” (271-356). In fact, Medea manipulates Jason by asking him to take the kids and not allowing them to be exiled out of Corinth’s. Medea uses that even gifts “persuades the gods and that gold is stronger than gold,” to trust her in giving a gift to his new bride as “[the] spirit of luck is with her… [to] grow her fortune more” (947-975).
For as long as humans have roamed the Earth, misogyny has been an everyday part of life. Some countries have handled it better than others, but misogyny faces every community. In Euripides tragedy Medea, the main character Medea struggles with the misogynistic views constantly facing the society in which she resides. Euripides uses Medea to convey misogyny.
In Euripides Greek tragedy, Medea, it is the civilised values of Greek culture, which govern all facets of Corinthian life, yet Medea’s triumph is not a celebration of such values, but a mockery of them. While on the surface, Medea’s triumph appears an act of personal revenge out of pure passion, the implications of her actions extend far beyond one individual to encompass an entire civilisation. In committing “vile” acts of infanticide, Medea not only absolves herself from the one- dimensional role of women in a patriarchal society, but also transcends the social orders of that society. Moreover, it also serves as a warning to sacrificing all reasoning and rationality, and allowing
Throughout Antigone, Electra, and Medea, many double standards between men and women surface. These become obvious when one selects a hero from these plays, for upon choosing, then one must rationalize his or her choice. The question then arises as to what characteristics make up the hero. How does the character win fame? What exactly is excellent about that character? These questions must be answered in order to choose a hero in these Greek tragedies.
In Medea, the ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides, the main character Medea is shown as a double personality character in this tragedy. Upon reading Medea, one finds that Medea has many untraditional characteristics for a woman. Medea started her marriage as the perfect loving wife who gave and sacrificed so much for her husband. After Medea’s husband betrays her by marrying another woman, Medea accumulate so much hatred against Jason and every one involved with him. Half-way into the reading Medea becomes a villainous murderer that demands respect and sympathy even after all she has done. By the end of the play, Medea has killed every one that has crossed her
In Greek society, the role of women was considered to be insignificant compared to the Greek men. The women had very few rights, no room to voice personal opinions, and a very bleak future with few options for a better life. According to Moses Hades, professor of Greek studies, women in ancient Greek plays are known to be the main characters and take the role of the villain, victim, or the heroine. In Euripides’ play Medea, Medea, the main character, plays all these roles. She represents the heroine by helping her husband secure the Golden Fleece prior to their marriage, and then portrays the victim by being betrayed by her husband, and finally the villain by murdering her loved ones. Therefore, Euripides follows the standard format for a Greek tragedy.
Medea and Lysistrata are two Greek literatures that depict the power which women are driven to achieve in an aim to defy gender inequality. In The Medea, Medea is battling against her husband Jason whom she hates. On the other hand, in Aristophanes' Lysistrata, the protagonist Lysistrata plotted to convince and organize the female gender to protest against the stubbornness of men. In terms of defining the purpose of these two literatures, it is apparent that Euripedes and Aristophanes created characters that demonstrate resistance against the domination of men in the society.
Euripides shows his views on female power through Medea. As a writer of the marginalized in society, Medea is the prime example of minorities of the age. She is a single mother, with 2 illegitimate children, in a foreign place. Despite all these disadvantages, Medea is the cleverest character in the story. Medea is a warning to the consequences that follow when society underestimates the
In the story of Medea, the author, Euripides, addresses the topics of foreignism and female roles in the ancient Greek society. In the play, Medea, a foreign born woman, marries Jason, a Greek man, and moves to Greece to be with him after leaving her homeland with death and devastation. Then, when their marriage fails, Medea lashes out against Jason, causing her own exile and murdering her children, to which she has no love connection, and Jason’s new wife in the process. The main character, Medea, confirms many of the alleged Greek prejudices against foreigners and creates some prejudices of her own in return. Medea’s foreign roots and misconceptions, as well as her familial and societal atrocities,
This paper aims to study two significant playwrights, Sophocles and Euripides, and compare their respective attitudes by examining their plays in respect to plot and character structures. To achieve this goal, the paper is organized into two main sections. In the first section, we provide a brief biography of both Sophocles and Euripides. The second and last section includes summaries of Sophocles’ Electra and Euripides’ Electra which were based on same essentials and give an opportunity to observe the differences of the playwrights. This section also includes the comparisons that are made by our observations about the plays.
In ancient Greece women were viewed as many things. They were not viewed as equivalent to males by any means. Women were portrayed usually as submissive domestic, and controlled. They played supporting or secondary roles in life to men, who tended to be demanding of their wives, but expected them to adhere to their wishes. In the tragedy Medea, written by Euripides, Medea plays the major role in this story, unlike most Greek stories with women playing only minor roles, but she also demonstrates many behavioral and psychological patterns unlike any other Greek women. In Euripides’ Medea the main character, Medea, Displays many traits that breakdown traditional Athenian misogyny by displaying her as proactive in taking her revenge, having cruel and savage passions, and being a very manipulative women.
The tragic play Medea is a struggle between reason and violence. Medea is deliberately portrayed as not a ‘normal woman’, but excessive in her passions. Medea is a torment to herself and to others; that is why Euripides shows her blazing her way through life leaving wreckage behind her. Euripides has presented Medea as a figure previously thought of exclusively as a male- hero. Her balance of character is a combination of the outstanding qualities of Achilles and Odysseus.
In the classical age, women were expected to be meek and powerless creatures, and when they were not they were usually considered to be hysterical. Medea’s strength is portrayed as her madness as she takes control and decides the fate of her enemies. Medea breaks that rule in the manifestation of the madness that poisons her mind. Medea has left everything to be with Jason, she has even gone as far as forsaking her father and murdering her brother in order to leave with Jason, “Oh, my father! Oh my country! In what dishonor / I left you, killing my own brother for it” (164-65). This perhaps should have been a red flag for Jason in realizing how she killed her own flesh and blood and should have been an indicator for the evil that resided within her. Medea is in Jason’s turf and here she is considered a foreigner, she now defines herself via her marriage to Jason. Ultimately, when she loses him to a younger bride, she also loses her ability to be rational in her thinking. Euripides allows Medea to have a voice, and thus, gives insight into how what is happening affects her psyche.
Aristophanes stereotypes women as bickering, self-centered, unintelligent people in the beginning. They are sex driven and selfish. Lysistrata is upset that the women are late for the very important meeting "Here I've called a meeting to discuss a very important matter, and they're all still fast asleep" (180). Calonice sums up what women are thought to do all day, and also what they represent to their households; "The women! What could they ever do that was any use? Sitting at home putting flowers in their hair, putting on cosmetics and saffron gowns and Cimberian see-through shifts, with slippers on our feet?" (181). It is in fact these very frivolous ideas that are used to bring peace to the two cities. Throughout the play Aristophanes begins to knock down ...
Women have always been disempowered due to their gender in modern and ancient times alike. In Corinth they are expected to run the household and conform to social expectations of a dutiful wife. Medea, being an immortal and descendant from the gods has a certain power in intelligence and sly cleverness. Being a foreigner, Medea’s wayward irrational behavior was expected in this play as she was not born in Greece and was seen as an exotic creature. She comes across to the audience as a powerful female character in terms of violence. Some of Medea’s reactions and choices appear to be blown out of proportion as authors generally make characters seem larger than life; this creates a better understanding of the text and the issues which are developed through the characters.
In Medea, by Euripides, conflicts play a major role in the creation of the play. Some examples of these conflicts are with Medea and Jason, Medea and herself, and Medea and Creon. Medea is shown to be a strong, independent woman who does what she wants as well as doesn’t let anything stand in her way. She shares qualities of a traditional male at the time, and the qualities of a traditional female. Euripides makes this clear in the play by creating conflicts to prove women can be a powerful character and that the play in general challenges the idea of misogyny.