Theme Of Passion In Medea

It is within the very nature of humans to isolate the polarised forces of reason and passion, yet within his Greek tragedy Medea, Euripides demonstrates the “fatal results” of possessing a predisposition for either frame of mind. Indeed, the antagonistic relationship between Medea and society best contextualises the gripping antithesis between maintaining an acceptable outward demeanour and laying bare our inner impulses respectively, however, at its core, this rupture is also self evident on an intrapersonal level as observed in Medea’s character. In presenting the consequences of the oppressive culture of Greek society, as well as the extent of destruction entailed with Medea’s unchecked emotions that propel her cause for revenge, Euripides seems to suggest that we should nurture our passion, but in doing so, we should also rein over them with reason, notable in the Nurse’s character. The nature of human psychology is one that manifests itself in binary oppositions, however it is not contrived in as such a way that forbids us from travelling the “middle way”.

In Medea, the concept of society, a fabricated construct and its

Although the human mind is accustomed to manifesting itself in binary oppositions constituted of reason and passion which extends to all facets of life, such a notion is underplayed in the face of god. Removed from our jurisdiction, the nature of our existence is dependant on far greater forces that transcend this fabricated conflict, and attributes an element of emptiness and inconsequence to the sense of perfection of “tradition, order” and “all things”. Through the deus ex machina ending of the play, Euripides condemns the necessity that all actions are derived either from reason or