” Medea ” is a tragedy written by the Greek playwright Euripides, who won his first victory for this work. The story is about Medea, a princess from Colchis (modern Georgia) who marries Jason of Iolcus and becomes a prominent person in his kingdom. Medea gives up her status as Queen to exile herself with Jason after he falls out of favor with the king. Medea kills Jason’s new lover and their children to win back the heart of her husband. The piece explores Medea’s relationship with men, power, anger, isolation, revenge, love, society norms & more through Medea’s character throughout the plot.
Medea has been adapted many times in theatre and literature since its first performance. Medea’s character has been developed into a more sympathetic woman and less of a monster/witch. One of Medea’s biggest impacts on literature is as a mother who murders her children as revenge for her husband leaving her for another woman. Medea is the first mother to murder her children on stage in history, which had previously been unspoken/unwritten about mothers murdering their children. Medea also changes the concept of how society views single mothers and widows.
Greek society during Medea’s time was very patriarchal: men were seen as superior to women and it was seen as an honor to have many babies (children) with your husband or male partner. Women were expected to live at home unless they were widowed. Medea is a strong, independent woman with an education who lives on her terms and does not depend on any male authority figure to survive. Medea also refuses to marry another man even though it would be the only option for many women at this period.
Medea’s behavior is unacceptable because she does not act like most other women during Euripides’ time; Medea appears too masculine for typical female norms. Medea is characterized as an individualistic woman throughout Euripides’ play ” Medea “. Medea’s goal in Euripides’ work was to prevent the patriarchal oppression of the female gender. Many times Medea speaks about power being taken away from women or how men have wronged Medea. Medea is given more agency than other women in Greek society because Medea’s actions are what create the plot of Medea’s story.
Medea does not let anyone else dictate her life or make decisions for Medea, which makes Medea an individualistic woman by today’s standards. Euripides also introduces elements of feminism into his play ” Medea “. A study about Medea on feministsociety. com describes Medea as a feminist that “maintains integrity and wholeness” but will fight to keep that integrity even against men, whether it be Jason or another male figure trying to oppress Medea. The article continues to claim that Euripides saw women as strong individuals with their agency that could accomplish “great deeds” in the world.
Medea becomes an individualistic woman not only because Medea is her person who does things Medea’s way, but Medea also believes in feminism and works to keep Medea’s agency throughout Euripides’ play. Medea’s power comes from within Medea through Medea’s education, independence, and feminism. Medea does not let any man take away what makes Medea unique even if it means death for Medea, which is why Euripides views Medea as an individualistic woman. How is gender explored in Medea?
Medea can be considered an individualistic woman because Medea does not do things the way other women in Medea’s time would. Medea questions if gender roles are important by Medea’s actions throughout Euripides’ play. What is Medea’s relationship with power? Medea has a great deal of agency, but Medea also uses her power to dominate men. Medea makes decisions without letting any man control what happens to Medea and how Medea’s life will end up. How is femininity explored in Medea? Femininity is used as a weapon for evil or bad deeds throughout Euripides’ play “Medeea”.
Society views femininity as something that needs to be controlled and maintained for Medea to be considered a “proper” Medea Medea also uses Medea’s femininity as a weapon throughout Euripides’ play. How is Medea viewed by other women? Medea is seen as too much of an individualistic Medea for the typical female norms of Medea’s time. Other Medeas call Medea out on her feminism, independence, and education because it was not seen as acceptable behavior in Greek society during Euripides’ time.
The protagonist Medea sees all these qualities in Medea though and wishes she could follow the same path as Medea. What are some examples of how Euripides explores gender roles? One example can be found when Jason tells Medeea that he will marry Medea’s cousin Glauce because Medea is not a “proper woman” Medea does not know how to act Medeas is expected to do. Euripides explores gender roles by showing how Medea would be seen as an individualistic Medea in Greek society because of Medea’s lack of femininity and independence. What role does power play in Medea?
Power is taken away from women, according to Medea throughout Euripides’ play “Medeea”. Men make decisions for women or take power away from women through physical or emotional abuse against Medeas that would try to step out of the patriarchal gender norms. Medea fights back against this oppression by standing up for herself and trying to gain back Medea’s power Medea once had. Medea fights back by killing Medea’s children because Medeea does not want Medeas’ children to grow up living in Medean society where powerlessness is also seen as a female trait.
Medeea has control of Medea throughout Euripides’ play, but Medeaa uses Medes’ agency for evil instead of good like other women in Greek society were expected to do according to gender norms. Femininity was portrayed as something only “proper” women could possess even though Euripides viewed Medea as an individualistic woman . Medeas can be seen as individuals that choose their own path instead of following the typical role of women during time period “Medeea” was written.
How is Medea’s femininity explored in Medeea? Medea uses Medea’s femininity as a weapon to hurt Medeas’ enemies and hide Medeaa Medes’ power from Jason. Medea even changes the way Medea dresses to trick Jason into thinking Medea is more “proper” woman . Euripides explores femininity by showing how Medeea uses her femininity as a weapon or something that makes Medeas weaker instead of what would be seen as an empowering trait, which goes against typical gender norms during time period Euripides’ play was written in.