Analytical Medea
As a mother, Made suffer d an ultimatum; she could leave her children behind and subject them to abuse fro m the enemies of her past, or she could relieve them of future agony by murdering t hem. Parents have a natural instinct to give children their best chance. Made chose e to murder her children in order to liberate them from pain. In Greece, men preferred this patriarchal ideal Of a silent and obedient wife, w ho stayed within the confines of the home.
Great scholars such as Aristotle believe deed that “the male rules and the female is ruled”; his ideas spurred the general social p reactive in Greece. There was also a famous, old saying in Greece, where a man thanked God that he was not uncivilized, a slave or a woman. In Athens, men preferred their woo men to stay home because colonization with other men lead to the possibility infidelity y and this would affect the paternity of the child. According to Athenian law, if paternity could not be determined, then the child could not be a citizen.
In this sense, Corinth WA s identical to Athens. If these harsh restrictions are placed on a Grecian woman, imagine the restrictions on a foreign woman, who would most likely be even more confine d and isolated. 2 Euripides depicts Made as noble, strong and classification, much stronger than her male counterparts. Made mourns Season’s betrayal but at the end Of her soliloquy, she is proud to be a woman because men underestimate her, which h allows her to deceive them. Made is also very clever; she exploits her enemy’s weak news.
Manipulation, cleverness and independence are typical masculine qualities the at Made possessed. Through the interactive oral, was able to better understand that Media’s revenge was catcalled by restrictions such as status, stereotypes and the misinterpretation of women in the ancient Greece. They combined to make a woman’s life difficult at that time in history. Word count: 387 3 “Fifth elements in a person as well as in a society or a state are balanced an d strong, one finds harmony and health, beauty and grace,” says Aching Cocker.
This is contrary to the play, by Euripides, where the audience follows the protagonist, Made, as she challenges her role in a contemporary, patriarchal Greek society. Media’s masculine characteristics outweigh her feminine traits, this I imbalance in her personality is caused by the lesser status she gains as a foreign women In an ancient Greek society. In relation to ordinary women and her male counterpane arts, Jason and King Croon, Made does not follow the path of all the other women in Co ring. This personality imbalance affects King Croon and Jason, who stray from the stand masculine characteristics.
The author challenges these stereotypes, but in disc playing the consequences of defying one’s stereotype, he reinforces them. The journal article “Diary of a Greek Housewife,” explores a regular day in a Grecian woman’s life. When opening a discussion, the husband “tells [his wife] she should not bother about the affairs of men” (Diary) and she “pretends to agree ” because “she is too hungry to argue” (Diary). The “filibustered[news]” (Euripides 807) and “statehood” housewife stands for the feminine stereotypes that Made call e ones.
While the housewife devotes her day to rearranging hair and freshening perfume Made dedicates her last day in Corinth to seek vengeance against the Corinth Han royals and Jason. By challenging her stereotype, Made takes the first step to wards her masculine self and tips the scales creating a personality imbalance which is the e result of a societal imbalance. Furthermore, in the poem, ‘Women” by Simonizes of A Argos, 4 the author interprets women according to different beasts, to explain a womb Nan’s nature. Within the stereotype that women inferiority, there are superstores to expo lain different kinds of women.
Simonizes uses each beast to explain a type of woo man. When applying this logic to Made, her cleverness pertains to the fox that Se monodies describes because she exploits the Corinthian King’s weakness, his daughter, I n order to take her revenge. In this sense, Made is the opposite of a weasel, she uses alluring quality to manipulate those around her. In addition, Media’s masculine e side is seen battling her feminine side when she tries to convince herself to commit I infanticide. She says to herself, Oh, arm yourself in steel, my heart!
Do not hang back do not think of them, How sweet they are, and how you are their mother. Just for This one short day be forgetful of your children, Afterward weep; (Euripides 12421248) This illustrates a shift where the personality imbalance is prominent. Media’s need for vengeance outweighs her motherly instincts indicating that her masculinity ova retakes her femininity; at the cost of her children, who are the symbol of her mother odd and femininity. These two sides of Media’s personality are like the sea who is twofer aced in Simonizes’ poem.
Made is schemes against her husband and the royal family y, this makes her a mix of ape and bee according to Simonizes because she was be like while aboard the Argon, when she aided Jason on many occasions. Still, she be comes more similar to an ape due to the horrors that Jason experiences while being the object 5 of Media’s rage. Euripides’ work disagrees with Simonizes’ work because E riptides’ Made is a combination of some qualities that Simonizes describes rather the n just one. By comparing regular women to Made, one can see that by challenging her stereotype, Made sacrifices her children for vengeance.
Euripides also uses Jason to highlight Media’s masculine character. Made takes control of her predicament. In comparison to men, women are not expel acted to retaliate against anyone. This is more often left to the men instead of women. Although Made cannot be a man, she discerns her ability to take revenge like a man w loud in her position. Made defies the feminine stereotypes Of feebleness and passive TTY by taking control of her life. Similarly, to engage in combat is deemed a man’s task k while the woman is expected to stay within the seclusion of the home.
Made defied s this basic Greek norm when she says that she “would very much rather stand/ Three times in the front of battle than bear one child” (Euripides 250251 Moreover, manipulation n is the key to Media’s revenge; she uses a blend of masculine and feminine qualities to exploit Jason. She cleverly, appeals to his arrogance in order to distract him while she takes her revenge. In their previous argument, Jason claims that his second wedding g Sis 48) and ‘Waives” (Euripides 549) move that he made in the in tersest of Made and their children.
He also says that, “it would have been better far for men/ TO have got their children in some Other way, and women/ Not to have existed. ]” (Euripides 573575). Made appeals to Season’s reasoning and pretends to agree e with him. She says, “Why am I set against those who have planned wisely? ‘(Euripides sees 874). She admits to having a “great lack of sense” and that her “anger was foolish”. 6 most effective lie, “we women are what we are-?perhaps a little/ Worthless” (Euripides 89890) compromises Season’s opinion because she gives the impression that J assn was right and she was not.
This works to her advantage since Jason believes t hat the balance between husband and wife has been restored and he Jason suspects nothing of her plot to ruin him. In Media’s soliloquy, she plans Season’s ultimate suffers Eng because she will not submit to the rules of a patriarchal Greek society. Let no one think me a weak one, filibustered, A statehood, but rather just the opposite, One who can hurt my enemies and help my friends; For the lives Of such persons are most remembered. Euripides 80781 0) Men are the ones who generally strive to be remembered, which is why they t aka part in battle.
By displaying such a trait in a woman, Euripides emphasizes the import once of following one’s stereotype because of the consequences Made faces. Made is not the only character who defies the Greek norm; King Croon and Jason abandon their masculine qualities as well. In the plays beginning, King Croon approaches Made with an unshakeable resolve to send her into exile. Origin ally, he displays his masculinity by refusing to listen to any of Media’s protests. This q laity ritually plummets when he tells Made he is “afraid that [Made] may injury e [his] daughter’ (Euripides 283).
Made appeals to the Kings love for his daughter a ND claims that she needs a day to find “support for [her] children” (Euripides 342) and as KS the king to “pity’ them. Even though Croon “prefer[s] to earn [her] hatred now/ Than to be softhearted and afterward regret it’ (Euripides 290291 ), he allows Made to re main in 7 Corinth for a day since he believes that she “can do none of the things [he] fee arts]” (Euripides 356). The Corinthian king enters Media’s household as a man With a full aquiline character but leaves as a lesser man because Made manipulates him.
Jason in hopes of advancing his station through marriage, provokes Media’s a anger and fuels her revenge. To the audience, he presents himself as aloof especially w hen he tells Made, “in so far as you helped me, you did well enough. / But on this question of saving me, I can prove/ You have certainly got from me more than you gave” (Euripides 533535). He tries to defend his actions; “confident in his tongue’s power to ad Ron evil” (Euripides 582), Jason uses irrelevant reasons such as living amongst the civilize deed, allowing Made fame and honor, in order to justify the kingdom and family s he gave up for him.
Season’s selfishness and whiny justifications of his actions, make him a weak and apathetic character. This figure is inconsistent to the previous image of a hero, illustrating that by straying from his stereotype and Jason pays the price, with a Grecian man’s most precious treasure: his sons. Euripides affirms that an imbalance o masculinity and femininity within a person, reflects on their society, denying it s proper function. Is a powerful text, full of characters that defy their stereotype in society. Euripides uses the characters of as tools to reinforce stereotypes.
The author applies masculinity to Made, this is seen in contrast to ” Diary Of A creek Housewife” and “Women” by Simonizes, where Made abandons her feminine e side unlike the housewife and proves Simonizes wrong since she is a blend of dif e rent women rather than only one type. Because of Media’s personality imbalance, 8 affects the behavior of Jason and King Croon, who become ruled by her insist dead of vice versa. Euripides gives Made a masculine side in order to prove his idea t hat challenging one’s stereotype leads to dire consequences.
