Medea: Tragedy, Betrayal, and Revenge

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Alleged Killer Medea Medea, a barbarian woman who once complied with Jason to acquire the Golden Fleece betrays her country by killing her brother and father to run in exile to Corinth. Jason takes Medea, who is not from a Greek background to Greece, a male-dominated society, where he then betrays her for a royal bed. This causes Medea to seek revenge and kill individuals around Jason including her own children. Medea is considered a tragic drama where the protagonist, Medea, atrociously murders innocent individuals in order to get revenge on Jason who betrayed her by marrying a princess. Although Jason’s betrayal causes Medea sorrow, there is overwhelming evidence throughout the play of characters who heard Medea’s evil plans of revenge towards innocent victims, therefore, her immoral actions shall be given a trial in Corinth where …show more content…

Medea’s trial begins in Corinth as she stands in front of the civilians who plan to testify against her due to the royal deaths. The citizens plead Medea culpable of slaughtering her children and sending poisoned gifts to the royals. The nurse testifies against Medea portraying her as a dreadful person before the court stating Medea “hates her children” (l.43). Moreover, the nurse describes Medea as a “terror” which reflects that “there’s no way to be her enemy and come out as a victor” (ll.50-51). The judge considers that the nurse recalls Medea’s words “I’ve suffered so much” and “O children, accursed, may you die” which reflects Medea’s intention to get revenge on Jason by killing their children (ll.118-119). In the meantime, Medea defends herself by stating that she killed in order to protect her children against the royal family. Medea’s lawyer states she was not mentally stable ever since her husband’s betrayal. However, the audience notices that Medea plans the pros and cons of her violent actions towards the King and princess carefully that way she does not

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