Centuries of traditions has enabled men and women to define gender roles in society. Although some critics declare gender roles do not exist today, others believe they do. In society, men and women are defined by gender roles throughout their activities and emotions. A doctor is typically portrayed by a male while women rear the children and cook for the men. However, although still in existence, today these roles are less obvious but tend to have similar meaning when compared to the past. In ancient Greece, women suffered great hardships. Currently, females work, vote, and run for office. In comparison to ancient Greece, these activities are a phenomenal leap from being under the direct supervision of a male husband.
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.
Ironically, Medea’s actions are similar to a man when she takes charge of her marriage, living situation, and family life when she devices a plan to engulf her husband with grief. With this in mind, Medea had accepts her place in a man’s world unti...
... middle of paper ...
...leaving moves Medea into a beggar status. She understands that she does not have authority, money, or power over anyone in the land. This leaves her powerless and desperate. Thereofore, she forms a crafty plan that revolves around herself and reestablishes power and authority.
Even in today’s society, gender roles play a part in how people view the world. Although more important than the gender roles are the emotions that antagonize the psyche of the human. Medea shows how jealousy can lead to revenge and influence bad decisions and ruin or even end lives. Ironically, the decisions she makes to kill her children, leaves Jason helpless much like a Greek wife during this time. She removes the opportunity for him to voice his opinions, needs, and desires. This flip of traditional gender roles shows how gender roles are not a reliable way to view a society.
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.
...racterization all combine to reveal Medea’s true character throughout the play. She is first revealed as an evil, wicked person that only seeks vengeance and revenge in order to get back at Jason for using then leaving her. Throughout the play different characters, especially that of the chorus helps contribute to how the different view of Medea’s character changes and develops. With the indirect/direct characterization of Medea with other characters being used to characterize her, the audience begins to develop an idea as to why she did what she did, and how she justified the mix of emotions she had. Medea is a women passion, so enraged by betrayal so dear to her heart, that she acts based on her passion and rage even when these irrational thoughts controlled her to kill her own brother, her own children, Glauce and her father, king Creon. She followed through.
It is the reversal of “tradition, order” and “all things”. In her commitment to revenge, Medea defies the expectation of Greek society, transforming from the “poor Medea”, who is “scorned and shamed”, “[lying] collapsed in agony, into a “vile murderess”, who’s “rage will not relax till it has found its victim”. Medea is an anti-hero; she underplays the supposedly righteous and moral principles of society in demonstrating the contradictions of Jason’s character and generally men, who are themselves guilty of being “swayed by passion” and being “oath breakers, guest deceivers and liars.” As much as Jason is disloyal, Aegeus is equally loyal; he is so beguiled by Medea’s offer of being “granted fertility”, that he is willing to provide “sanctuary” in Athens for a “child killer”. Just as Medea is motivated by her personal passions in neglect of civilised laws, no less are the men in the play. Furthermore, the fact that the ending of the play unfolds in the manner that it does, where Medea evades punishment “in this chariot which the Sun has sent to save her from the hands of enemies” is a testimony to the idea that the constructs of society and their supposedly cultivated principles are arbitrary in the larger scheme of our existence. Through the deus ex machina ending of the play, Euripides condemns humanity’s fixation on contrived ideals and values that ultimately affect greater merit than is actually
Euripides created a two-headed character in this classical tragedy. Medea begins her marriage as the ideal loving wife who sacrificed much for her husband's safety. At the peak of the reading, she becomes a murderous villain that demands respect and even some sympathy. By the end, the husband and wife are left devoid of love and purpose as the tragedy closes.
Despite the contrast in the characters of Euripedes' Medea and Aristophanes' Lysistrata, the two playwrights depicted how gender inequality can start a fire. As with Medea and Jason, the battle between the two lead to former's madness, leading to the death of the enemies she considered, and, unfortunately, leading as well to the death of her own children. Medea felt betrayed and left behind by her husband Jason, as well as continuously aggravated by Creon despite the fact that i...
In order to comprehend all stances opposing mythology as fully symbolic of rebellion, an analysis will be done to prove mythology as symbolic of suppression. In the beginning, the character Medea is crying for the loss her husband. “O Zeus… do you hear the chanted prayer of a wife in her aguish?” (Euripides 148-149). Euripides' use of the Greek god, Zeus, symbolizes the character Jason. Zeus had many mistresses in which he cheated on his wife Hera. Nothing was done on Hera’s behalf due to Zeus having a greater position of respect. In the time period to which the play is based, women are viewed as personal items and slaves to men. This is similar to Jason due to the fact that Jason has placed the character Medea in a position to which she is helpless to do anything. Medea is a housewife who has a limited role in her house. The only role Medea has is a role to tend for her children. This is an act of suppression due to the fact that Medea has to succumb to Jason’s power; similar to Hera. In turn, these actions tie into the theme of the lack of authority women have in the play, Medea. Furthermore, in the play, the character Medea seduces the character Jason in order to kill the princess. “But I too can help in this. I’ll send a present to your wife…the dress and the golden cornet” (Euripides 943-948). Through the use of this quote, Euripides employs the character...
With no husband, no country to turn to, and no one she can really depend on for rescue, Medea is trapped by her circumstances. Instead of becoming crushed, however, Medea turns it against those she hate. She attacks the weaknesses in her enemies’ character. Knowing Jason would feel guilty about his abandonment, Medea sent her own children to deliver the poisoned gifts, despite the certain death her children would face being involved in such a plot. Knowing the princess would not resist flashy gifts, she cursed the dress and crown. Knowing the king’s love for his daughter would cause him to rush to her aid, Medea formulated the curse to spread to those who touched the daughter as well. As each facet of her plan had to be executed perfectly to succeed, Medea demonstrated the full potential of her capabilities. She proves that when a society completely scorns and devalues women, everyone will pay as women are incredibly strong.
Because she does not hold the same beliefs and ideals of the women in her new society, this escalates the Greek’s skepticism of her and leads to further rejection. Jason explains to Medea that Greek women accept traditional societal roles and the duties placed on them by men when he says, “It is only natural for your sex to show resentment when their husbands contract another marriage. But your heart has now changed for the better. It took time, to be sure, but you have now seen the light of reason. That’s the action of a wise woman” (Page 209-210), but Medea strongly refutes these beliefs.
...help the audience feel compassionate, understand Medea’s emotional development, and her sense of pride. Although these characters are presented separately, generally they support each other although they represent different sides of views on the Children’s murder. Euripides, using these characters, transforms the play into a representative symbol of freedom and power. Medea is represented as a loving mother who was only forced to murder her children. Thus Euripides turns a story of jealousy and betrayal, to a play which represents fundamental human emotions.
Throughout the whole story, you are torn with emotions between the characters. At first, you feel sorry for Medea. Her husband, who she has saved from death, has left her for another woman. She has been "all/obediant" their entire marriage, transforming herself into the sort of wife required by society. You can't help but sympathize with her.
Medea shows herself to be a proactive, determined woman who is ready to do what she has been planning throughout the story. In the begging of the book she starts to threaten revenge on her husband, Jason, “If I can find the means or devise to pay my husband back for what he has done to me…”(pg 9). Medea is just touching on her anger that she has built up within her for her husband. The traditional Athenian women would be mourning the loss of her husband, and may feel angry with him but would never swear to revenge him for his doings, and lastly actually do them. Women are usually portrayed in this situation being so dependent on their husbands that they will still do anything for him as so he will continue to help support the children and possibly his ex-wife.
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.
Medea’s illegitimate marriage and the betrayal of Jason drive Medea to extreme revenge. Medea chooses to act with her immortal self and commit inhumane acts of murder rather than rationalize the outcomes of her actions. Medea see’s this option as her only resort as she has been banished and has nowhere to go, “stripped of her place”. To create sympathy for Medea, Euripides plays down Medea’s supernatural powers until the end of the play. Throughout the play Medea represents all characteristics found in individual women put together, including; love, passion, betrayal and revenge. Medea’s portrayal of human flaws creates empathetic emotions from the audience. The audience commiserates with Medea’s human flaws as they recognize them in themselves. Medea plays the major role in this play as she demonstrates many behavioral and psychological patterns unlike any of the other Greek women in the play; this draws the audience’s attention to Medea for sympathy and respect.
... the Chorus, they condemn her for it, but, they can see and understand the reasons behind why Medea did what she did. For this reason at the end of the play the audience still has some sympathy for Medea, although severely diminished from that at the beginning of the play.
... takes matters into her own hands and doesn’t wait for a man to handle things for her. Also, her internal conflict that is visible throughout the entire play signify that she actually thinks for herself, and is strong enough to need to make serious decisions on her own, regardless of her gender. All of this goes back on the traditional Greek society, and helps make Medea into a play that is ahead of its time. With Euripides challenging the notion of misogyny, he creates Medea to show how powerful and dangerous a woman can be in a story, even though it was never heard of in the modern eras.