Medea
Hui Yu
Patricia Gross
THA 101 Section C
10/2/2012
Medea
In the play Medea, Euripides depicted the role of a feminist. Her cunning and cleverness which should be admired however cause her tragedy at that time, the Ancient Greek time, where women are subordinate to men. The dominant men cannot bear that women go over them, thus cause the suffering and pain of Medea in her age. And in this view, I do not assume Medea a feminist but a normal woman who pursue harmony in family and loyalty in love, yet that finally depressed her and drove her into manipulation and brutalization. Here are my few thought about questions involved in the play.
* How is Medea’s situation worse than it would be if she were a native of the city?
If Medea were a native of Corinth, she may find more support and comfort from family and feel better. However she was in the foreign region where the only one she can rely on and trust was her husband, the man that she sacrificed a lot to be company with. She helped him to get the Golden Fleece and in order to suspend her father’s chase she killed her own brother and cut him into pieces. This did work relieving her father’s pursuit to the Argo so he could collect the pieces of his son's body for burial. This cruel action did cut Medea’s affection between she and her family. Corinth cannot be a good place for her as a shelter, only a place full of torture and sorrow for her to suffer. When the king decided to exile her, the only thing she can do was to accept, and for more what she can do was to beg for the delay. As a modern audiences, I have difficulty conceiving of how horrible exile was for the ancient Greeks. A person's city-state was home and protector; to wander, without friends or shelter, was considered a fate as horrible as death. Medea, for the sake of her husband, has made herself an exile. She is far from home, without family or friends to protect her. In her overzealous advocacy of her husband's interest, she has also made
Patricia Gross
THA 101 Section C
10/2/2012
Medea
In the play Medea, Euripides depicted the role of a feminist. Her cunning and cleverness which should be admired however cause her tragedy at that time, the Ancient Greek time, where women are subordinate to men. The dominant men cannot bear that women go over them, thus cause the suffering and pain of Medea in her age. And in this view, I do not assume Medea a feminist but a normal woman who pursue harmony in family and loyalty in love, yet that finally depressed her and drove her into manipulation and brutalization. Here are my few thought about questions involved in the play.
* How is Medea’s situation worse than it would be if she were a native of the city?
If Medea were a native of Corinth, she may find more support and comfort from family and feel better. However she was in the foreign region where the only one she can rely on and trust was her husband, the man that she sacrificed a lot to be company with. She helped him to get the Golden Fleece and in order to suspend her father’s chase she killed her own brother and cut him into pieces. This did work relieving her father’s pursuit to the Argo so he could collect the pieces of his son's body for burial. This cruel action did cut Medea’s affection between she and her family. Corinth cannot be a good place for her as a shelter, only a place full of torture and sorrow for her to suffer. When the king decided to exile her, the only thing she can do was to accept, and for more what she can do was to beg for the delay. As a modern audiences, I have difficulty conceiving of how horrible exile was for the ancient Greeks. A person's city-state was home and protector; to wander, without friends or shelter, was considered a fate as horrible as death. Medea, for the sake of her husband, has made herself an exile. She is far from home, without family or friends to protect her. In her overzealous advocacy of her husband's interest, she has also made