Preview

Social Conflict Between Women and Men

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
476 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Social Conflict Between Women and Men
Home » Business & Economy
Social Conflict Between Women and Men
By kmoore76, june 2012 | 2 Pages (439 Words) | 458 Views
|
4.51
1
2
3
4
5
|
Report
|
This is a Premium essay for upgraded members
Sign Up to access full essay
SIMON SAYS, "CLICK BELOW."
Send

Summarization of “The Social Conflict between Men and Women”
Sue Blundell, author of the article “The Social Conflict between Men and Women” suggest that strife and hostility from the determining of proper social roles between men and women cause social conflict. Additionally, the way men treat women cause the women to suffer, which leads to disaster. For example, Jason breaks his oath to Medea by not being loyal to her so she suffered so much that she came up with the idea to kill their children in order to hurt Jason. Her pain was more than she could bear so she did it. Medea decided to take control of her affairs. Blundell suggests that one person looked at Medea as being a strong and brave woman which was rare since people didn’t give credit to the women about anything. Medea didn’t want anyone thinking she was scared. She said, “Let no one think of me as humble or weak or passive. I am dangerous to my enemies and loyal to my friends”(73). In addition, she made sure no one tried to take advantage of her. She had to go into exile to another land but she manipulated her friend so he could keep her safe. She was very smart. Blundell states that the social conflict was that in drama men and women would imitate each other. The men would dress as women and the other way around. This shows that women didn’t have rights. In addition, even when a woman was married her life wasn’t free from danger yet. It was said to never allow women to triumph over the men. Women didn’t get recognized as themselves, they were recognized by the men’s identity. Like everything about the women belonged to the man. The men had rights and could speak about anything or do whatever they

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    In the play Medea written by Euripides, the patriarchal society of ancient Greece is examined and the role of women in a male centred society is explored. In this world where “the middle way,” or moderation in all things is valued and reason and logic are seen to be the ideal, there is no room for passion or emotion which further limits the value of women. In response to Jason’s arrogant sense of superiority and his disregard for his wife’s feelings, Medea shows criminal behaviour by killing Jasons children and his new wife so he cannot continue his family line and denying him burial rights for his own children. However, it is Jason who acts like a criminal because he betrays his oath to Medea, and his criminal behavior forces Medea to commit the unjustifiable act of infanticide because she felt she had no other alternative.…

    • 1687 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some of the major complaints Medea pleas about are that women cannot reject marriage because of the over dominance of men that women don’t have the power to reject or deny marriage. I believe not only Greece, but other countries around the whole world face the over dominance of men over women. Another complaint Medea states is how women are “bought and sold” by men. Women weren’t slaves back in Greece but Medea emphasizes the point that women are treated like property, being bought and sold. In the present world, there are very few or not even any countries that sell women but are treated like slaves, having limited rights than men. Lastly, she points out women are the “most unfortunate creatures”. I think the hidden message Euripides is explaining is the deplorable state of females in Greece. I think that there are still countries worldwide, facing the same situations Medea points out to the readers. In addition, I think Euripides wants readers to sympathize the state of women and how they’re treated.…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Furthermore, Medea takes offense to men having nothing to bind them to their commitments and women having to uphold to higher standards of commitment. In her eyes this is an injustice because whether it is a man leaving his wife, or a wife leaving her husband it only reflects negatively on the woman. She states “we women are the most wretched…we have bought a husband, we must then accept him as professor of our body… for women, divorce is not respectable; to repel the man, not possible” (24). From this statement we can tell that women are not afforded the same options as men, but still women are less respected if they do not act according to the social expectations of women. Jason leaving Medea not only subjects her to societies ridicule and shame, but a personal shame. The extent of her loyalty as went unappreciated and it results in her feeling used. Medea states, “Do you see how I am used- In spite of those great oaths I bound him with-By my accursed husband? Oh, may I see Jason and his bride ground to pieces in their shattered palace for the wrong they have dared to do to me, unprovoked! ” (22). In Medea's eyes his actions are a betrayal and her actions express those of vengeance. Has much as she has done for him she would have never thought that Jason would have shamed her in the way that he did. The idea that unexpected behavior leads to belittlement can be best expressed in Aristotle's, understanding of an insult, when he states, “if [a person] should have been expecting the opposite. For what is greatly unexpected is the more painful... From these considerations it should be clear what seasons, times, dispositions and ages are easily moved to anger… (144). Medea was not expecting Jason to dishonor her because she has fulfilled…

    • 356 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The speech itself highlights women's subordinate status in ancient Greek society, especially in the public eye." When Medea points out that women, especially "foreign" women, "require some knowledge of magic and other covert arts to exert influence over their husbands in the bedroom," she argues for a kind of alternative power that women can enjoy. A power that remains invisible to men and unknown by society, yet sways each with unquestionable force. Medea also supplies a method for interpreting her own character towards the end of her speech (lines 251-257): we should read her history of exile as a metaphoric exaggeration of all women's alienation; in fact, her whole predicament, past and yet to come, can be read as an allegory of women's suffering and the heights of tragedy it may unleash if left unattended. Under this model of interpretation, Medea portrays the rebellion of women against their "wretchedness." Such a transparent social allegory may seem forced or clichéd in our own contemporary setting, but in Euripides' time it would have been revolutionary, as tragedy generally spoke to the sufferings of a generic (perhaps idealized) individual, rather than a group. It would be a mistake, however,…

    • 658 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Creon and Medea

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Medea was a very diverse character who possesses several characteristics which were unlike the average woman during her time. As a result of these characteristics she was treated differently by members of the society. Medea was a different woman for several reasons; she possessed super natural powers , she was manipulative, vindictive, and she was driven by revenge. The life that Medea lived and the situations she encountered, were partly responsible for these characteristics and her actions, And because she was such a different woman people in her society were afraid of her, including men.…

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the opening of the play the nurse tells the audience of what preceded the story telling that Medea was passionately in love with Jason causing her to make rash decisions such as engineering the death of Pelias, adhering to Jason’s every whim, having children and, trying her hardest to fit in with the citizens of Corinth (8-15). In this way she is observing Athenian expectations as this suggests that she is being subservient to her husband. This position as an ordinary wife is supported by her first monologue in she talks about what women must go through to secure a husband and how she is stuck inside after the fact (230-245). However in contrast to the Corinthian wives, Medea married for love, which as far as scholars are aware was rare given the Periklean citizenship law.…

    • 1750 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the Greek play Medea, there are two protagonists, Medea and Jason. Medea, who is the wife of Jason has fallen in love with him and has left her country to be with him. After all this loyalty, Jason decides to divorce Medea and marry the king’s daughter; Glauce. Medea becomes filled with fury and anger and wants to kill her husband and the king’s daughter. We can also say that she becomes suicidal. Jason on the other hand, only seeks his own benefits because he has married the King’s daughter just to gain benefits for himself and leaves the woman he used to love.…

    • 394 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Euripides and Ovid present two entirely different sets of motivations for Medea's behavior which surface through her attitude towards Jason. In the Athenian tragedy, it becomes clear from the onset that Medea harbors an unnatural and overwhelming hatred for Jason and anyone he is connected to. Granted, anger is a natural response when one spouse leaves his or her mate for another partner, but it should not consume the abandoned person's life. As the Chorus notes, "It often happens...You must not waste away" (156-158). Medea's stern rejection of this advice is puzzling to the reader, but her reasons soon become clear in a soliloquy following a meeting with Aegeus in which she states "Let no one think me a weak one" (807). Medea is a proud character whose self-image reflects an important person, but as was the case with her anger, she takes this idea to an extreme. The rage that follows Jason's threat to her authority motivates her to think and act destructively. Ovid, on the other hand, saw Medea behaving for a different set of reasons.…

    • 1553 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In ancient Greek society, the purpose of women was to bear children and take care of the household. Penelope in the Odyssey was expected to wait patiently for Odysseus to return from the Trojan War. While doing so, she was expected to keep herself occupied with household chores such as weaving and spinning. Medea was expected to passively and obediently go into exile after her husband Jason decided to marry another woman. Penelope and Medea, the leading women in their respective Greek works both fulfill and go against their prescribed gender roles. Penelope skillfully went against gender roles but only in order to keep her family united, while Medea went against her gender role in a violent, vengeful way that destroyed her family.…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    How Does Medea Get Revenge

    • 2702 Words
    • 11 Pages

    For instance, Medea takes extreme measures to assure that she is in control of everything. Positions of power and authority were almost exclusively held by men at the time, so it is clear why the typical person in Medea's day would have associated the notion of control with men. Even when retaining her sense of control requires deadly measures on her own blood, she is not dissuaded. To ensure that her children would not be killed by the ruling powers of Corinth, she deems it necessary to take their lives herself: "To kill the children and then fly from Corinth; not delay and so consign them to another hand to murder with a better will. For they must die, in any case; and since they must, then I who gave them birth will kill them." (1236-1240) Medea's behavior throughout the play was very prideful. It holds true even to this day, that men are typically more prideful than women, and commonly take that pride to the point of being cocky. Due to this mindset, she does not allow anyone but herself to have the final word. She did not even cave in when Jason asked to have the bodies of his dead children to provide a proper burial, because she refused to allow anyone the satisfaction of seeing her as weak. After Jason asked for the children Medea responded, "Oh, no! I will myself convey them to the temple of Hera Acraea; there in the holy precinct I will bury them with my own hand, to ensure that none of my enemies shall violate or insults their graves." (1379-1382) Mothers who murder their children, deceive their husbands, and remove the order of the land all for the sake of power and pride are not looked upon favorably. All of Medea's deeds, regardless of gender specificity, elicit anything but sympathy. None of these actions, masculine or feminine, should have been feasible due to Medea's powerless…

    • 2702 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Medea Argumentative Essay

    • 982 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Medea is a representation of the mistreatment of women in Greek society. In the play, she complains of how unfairly women were treated. For instance, she complains “For women, divorce is not respectful; to repel the man, not possible. Still more, a foreign woman, coming among new laws, new customs, needs the skill of magic to find out what her home could not teach her, how to treat the man whose bed she shares. If in this exacting toil we are successful, and our husband does not struggle under the marriage yoke, our life is enviable; otherwise, death is better.” (236-245) During this time period, women were treated unfairly and viewed as a lower class. Medea also proclaims “Of all creatures that can feel and think, we women are the worst treated things alive.” (230-231) The play shows how far a woman’s limits are pushed until she is forced to do the unspeakable.…

    • 982 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Medea

    • 623 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The famous Greek tragedy Medea, by Euripides, is about a woman who is so distraught by her ex-husband’s actions that she snaps and commits brutal crimes like killing his new bride and father in law, Creon and she even killed her children, an act so unthinkable that most people today shutter at the thought of it. People have scrutinized the play for centuries in an attempt to discover Medea’s true motives. Some believe that she is not actually evil, just mistreated to the point where she simply would not take it anymore. However, Medea is truly evil because she murdered the princess and Creon, she slaughtered her own children, and she never actually attacked Jason himself, but only the ones he loved.…

    • 623 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    medea

    • 372 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Perhaps the most fascinating and complex character in Greek drama, is the of Medea. She is the ultimate combination of heroine, villain and victim, all displayed in a single play. Medea was married to a Greek named Jason, whom she followed from her foreign land, to Greece. Her love for Jason was deep, and when he elected to leave her to marry the daughter of Creon, Medea was furious (Euripides lines 1-24). In retaliation for his strayed affections, Medea sent Jason's bride a poison dress. She then murdered her children as a second form of revenge. While she loved her children, her hatred for Jason was greater than a mother's love could ever have been. These acts of murder were the ultimate revenge toward her ex-husband, leaving him brideless and childless. Despite these crimes, Medea is a character who can be sympathized with. She gave up all she loved for Jason:…

    • 372 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    On Golden Pond

    • 3000 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Lamphere, Louise. “The Domestic Sphere Of Women And The Public World Of Men. In Caroline Brettell & Carolyn Fishel Sargent (Eds.), Gender And Cross-Cultural Perspective, 3rd edn. Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.…

    • 3000 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In Medea, her husband Jason leaves her because she is only a barbarian. In order for him to gain power and wealth, Jason instead marries a Greek princess from his own culture. He does this because it is more acceptable to his society, but the result is that Medea takes a terrible revenge and kills the children. The whole institution of marriage, and the means by which society perpetuates and regenerates itself across…

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays