Loyal Disobedience-A Social Tract of Euripides
In ancient Greece the females were considered to be conniving and deceiving whisperers, and men almost never trusted their wives. The ideal woman was an obedient and placating wife. They believed that the female should be strong but still yield to the power of the male in charge, whether it was older brother, father, or husband. Euripides often used females in uncommon ways; he did not simply show them as complacent animals. Women in Euripides' plays were used for social commentary. They were not just simple characters; they could be both agathos and kakos. The females in the works of Euripides were extremely strong and devious and they were loyal but at the same time hypocritical.
Ancient Greco society contained a vast amount of gods, demigods, and other godlike beings. Even though it was widely known what females should be like, the gods themselves did not emulate this. Hera was not obedient to Zeus. There are other contradictory goddesses: the goddess of Peace, and the goddess of War. In the time of Euripides there was a double standard.
In both Medea and Helen, the title characters are disobedient females. They do not listen to the males around them. In ancient Greece it was not acceptable for a female tolive by herself. They believed that females should be the servant, or the subjugated property of a male. Females relied on men for their protection but in return they gave their loyalty. What might have been seen as obedience, most likely was loyalty. Men might have thought they had an obedient wife but this was not the case.
Menelaos is shipwrecked in Egypt after a long and arduous j...
... middle of paper ...
...allowed to break their physical bonds, i.e. kill the children.
To Euripides, women were in no way obedient. He believed that women were loyal to those who provide for them, but if you cut the provisions you will lose their loyalties. In both Helen and Medea the title character is a strong and independent woman. They are loyal to their husbands, but just so long as their husband reciprocates the loyalty. They were loyal but disobedient. If the connection is broken, they will not listen. A man might think he has an obedient wife, but it is most likely loyalty.
Works Cited
Ancient Greek Women in Athens. 20 January 2002. <http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/ancientchix/>
Marschke, J. The Roles of Women in Greek Tragedies. 20 January 2002.
<http://www.richeast.org/htwm/Greeks/gwomen/gwomen.html>
In both works the protagonists act in opposition to the established cultural roles society has dealt them. In ancient Greek society, women were controlled by their father before they were married, and controlled by their spouse once they were married; Medea opposes this convention and ultimately succeeds in overthrowing it. In fact the theme of reversal of gender roles pervades the entire text. This is exemplified when at the end of the play Medea domineeringly states, “Now of...
...man’s chest but in the poem it is indicated as a lake, the lake that the water lily sunk into. Tennyson uses all of this to make his “love story”, which of course is dyed with the same beautiful and restful atmosphere of twilight and a gathering darkness filled with stars.
"if anyone asks me how I liked you, and how you treated me, I will
In Medea, the society is similar when it comes to men versus women. Barlow states that the “[h]usband have complete physical control of their wives,” which is similar to the society in Bacchae (Barlow 159). Medea is mistreated by almost all the men that she encounters within the play. Jason betrays her and leaves her to marry Creon’s daughter. Creon wants to banish Medea and her two sons from his land (Medea 272-273). When Creon is banishing Medea from his land he has no h...
In historic Greece, the characteristics of a hero were for the most part left only for men to achieve. Heroes were viewed as those who were kind to friends, vicious to enemies. They were also men who risked their lives regularly everyday, fighting for not only their country, but also treasures such as women, gold, and armor, among other things. Women, however, rarely accomplished such things, for what made a good woman was her obedience to her husband, her loyalty to her family, and, for the most part, other functions that a housewife is usually considered to perform. In order to win renown, however, a woman was forced to commit actions normally left to men. Antigone, Electra, and Medea, do not attempt to be what was considered a “good” women in ancient Greece; rather, their actions become masculine, instead. This is why they were known in the ancient world.
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.
Blunden, Edmund and Heinemann, Eds. “Tennyson.” Selected Poems. London: Heinemann Educational Books, 1960. p.1. print.
Marxism is an economic and social system developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels during the mid-1800s (What is Marxism). A Marxist literary criticism deals with class consciousness and ideology.
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
Marxism is a method of analysis based around the concepts developed by the two German philosophers Karl Marx and Fredrich Engel, centered around the complexities of social-relations and a class-based society. Together, they collaborated their theories to produce such works as The German Ideology (1846) and The Communist Manifesto (1848), and developed the terms ‘’proletariat’ and ’bourgeois’ to describe the working-class and the wealthy, segmenting the difference between their respective social classes. As a result of the apparent differences, Marxism states that proletariats and bourgeoisie are in constant class struggle, working against each other to amount in a gain for themselves.
This quote shows the significance of democracy and also highlights the only way for a democratic government to succeed is by having everyone working together. Our world today is separated by countries that each has their own suited government. However, a democracy is the most used and suitable government in order for any nation to succeed. Hence, a democratic government would be best suited for the boys on the island.
Marxism is a philosophy coined by Karl Marx with the help of Friedrich Engles in the early nineteenth century. Marx’s writings inspired many progressive thinkers throughout the European continent and the United States. The Marxist doctrine stated that first a bourgeoisie revolution, which will ignite a capitalist fire. The political philosopher believed that communism could only thrive in a society distressed by “the political and economic circumstances created by a fully developed capitalism” With industry and capitalism growing a working class develops and begins to be exploited. According to Marx, the exploiting class essentially is at fault for their demise, and the exploited class eventually comes to power through the failure of capitalism:
Tennyson, Alfred, Lord. "The Lady of Shalott." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. 6th ed. Vol. 2. New York: Norton, 1993. 1059-1063.
Women’s lives are represented by the roles they either choose or have imposed on them. This is evident in the play Medea by Euripides through the characters of Medea and the nurse. During the time period which Medea is set women have very limited social power and no political power at all, although a women’s maternal and domestic power was respected in the privacy of the home, “Our lives depend on how his lordship feels”. The limited power these women were given is different to modern society yet roles are still imposed on women to conform and be a dutiful wife.
He is known worldwide for his numerous theories and ideas in regards to society, economics and politics. His outlook on these subjects is known as Marxism. Marxism focuses on the imbalance and struggle between classes and society. Marx’s theories stem from the concept of materialism based society and the implications thereof. These concepts leads to the Marxist theory of the failure of capitalism. Marx had a number of specific reasons for the downfall of capitalism yet capitalism remains very real and successful. Marxism covers a wide range of topics and theories, but an in depth analysis of his criticism to capitalism and how it is not relevant to modern day will be explored.