Euripides Medea Essay Example For Students

Euripides Medea Essay Euripides MedeaEuripides’ Medea2.) Since Euripides’ play â€Å"Medea† is still one of the most controversial plays ever written about the evocations of women’s rights, there are many dissimilar opinions on the justification for Medea’s choice of infanticide. The two most distinct sides are, that her reasoning and her actions were completely vindicated and the other is that her reasoning and her actions were entirely erroneous and unethical. Her severe anger and turmoil caused by Jason marrying another women was overwhelming and devastated her. The only thing that she concerned herself with was to make Jason undergo the feelings of pain and suffering, even surpassed her own. Medea states that by killing her children â€Å"is the best way to wound my husband,† (line 817) and that â€Å"No compromise is possible.† (Line 819) Her first decision is to kill her children, but then when she is faced with them and their smiles she renounces her plan. At this point she says, â€Å"Why should I hurt their father with the pain they feel, and suffer twice as much pain myself?† (Line 1046-47) After she hears the news that the princess and Creon died, she realizes that because of this her children will be endangered anyway. She says, â€Å"to suffer my children to be slain by another hand less kindly to them. Force every was will have it they must die, and since this must be so, then I, their mother, shall kill them.† (Lines 1238-41) Her initial justifications for killing her children are not valid ones, which she seems to realize when she renounces her plans. However, it is hard to decide whether her final choice to murder her children is justified, because they would have been murdered anyway, but then how can a mother murder her own children. There seems like she could have done something to hide them or protect them, or was it just an excuse to kill them and hurt Jason again. I personally do not feel that her actions were justified, I think her excuses had no weight against the fact that as a mother she could murder her own children to hurt their father. They could not vote, ownproperty, or choose a husband, and had to be represented by men in all legalproceedings. In some ways, these Greek women were almost like slaves. There isa definite relationship between this subordination of women and what transpiresin the play. Jason decides that he wants to divorce Medea and marry theprincess of Corinth, casting Medea aside as if they had never been married. This sort of activity was acceptable by Greek standards, and shows thesubordinate status of the woman, who had no say in any matter like this. Even though some of Medeas actions were not typical of the averageGreek woman, she still had attitudes and emotions common among women. Forinstance, Medea speaks out against womens status in society, proclaiming thatthey have no choice of whom to marry, and that a man can rid themselves of a woman to get another whenever he wants, but a woman always has to keep hereyes on one alone. (231-247) Though it is improbable that women went aroundopenly saying things of this nature, it is likely that this attitude was sharedby most or all Greek women. Later in the play, Medea debates with herself overwhether or not to kill her children: Poor heart, let them go, have pity uponthe children. (1057). This shows Medeas motherly instincts in that she caresabout her children. She struggles to decide if she can accomplish her goal ofrevenge against Jason without killing her children because she cares for themand knows they had no part in what their father did. Unfortunately, Medeasdesire to exact revenge on Jason is greater than her love for her children, andat the end of the play she kills them. Medea was also a faithful wife to Jason.She talks about how she helped Jason in his quest for the Golden Fleece, thenhelped him escape, even killing her own brother. (476-483). The fact that shewas willing to betray her own family to be with Jason shows her loyalty to him.Therefore, her anger at Jason over him divorcing her is understandable. On the other hand, Medea shows some heroic qualities that were notcommon among Greek women. For example, Medea is willing to kill her own brotherto be with Jason. In classical Greece, women and killing were probably notcommonly linked. When she kills her brother, she shows that she is willing todo what is necessary to get the job done, in this case, to be with Jason.Secondly, she shows the courage to stand up to Jason. She believes that she hasbeen cheated and betrayed by him. By planning ways to get back at him forcheating on her, she is standing up for what she believes, which in this case isthat she was wronged by Jason, but in a larger sense, she is speaking out against the inferior status of women, which effectively allows Jason to discard Medea at will. Third, she shows that she is clever and resourceful. Ratherthan use physical force to accomplish her plans, she uses her mind instead: it is best to.. SOUTHERN VOTING BEHAVIOR Essay.make away with them by poison. (384-385) While physical strengthcan be considered a heroic quality, cleverness can be as well. She does in factpoison the princess and the king of Corinth; interestingly, however, she doesnot poison them directly. I