Feminist reading of the play "Medea"

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A feminist reading of the play "Medea" by Euripides


Source: Google Images


This Greek tragedy, known for its protagonist's astounding actions, is considered to be a proto-feminist play. Medea plans out a calculated murder plan to kill Glauce and her own children. The reason for such an act of cold-hearted revenge is due to her passionate love for Jason. Though her actions are not something a person with genuine love would do, Medea, a woman with a savage temper does not shy away from giving justice to her thwarted heart. What Jason did is ethically and morally wrong, but what Medea did is still a debated topic.

Medea is a headstrong woman. Her words and fierce temper stands out throughout the play. And the play provides a sophisticated treatment of the female gender. The relationship between the chorus and Medea is one to be noted. The women of the chorus are horrified and enthralled by Medea’s words and deeds. They have pity for her, but they do not interfere or stop Medea from her revenge. She delivers a powerful diatribe not just against Jason, but against the patriarchal society which supports him. Medea in taking her revenge avenges all the crimes committed against all of womankind.

Medea sees through the ramifications of Jason. Jason justifies his new marriage as a thing that will be beneficial for Medea. But Medea does not accept it, for she knows that Jason remarried only for his own good and if he truly loved her, he would not have married again.

The play can be read as a feminist play for it presents the story of a woman who put her thoughts into action in a society that had prescribed gender roles. Medea is the protagonist. She occupies the stage and commands most of her actions. She defies the accepted gender assumptions that prescribed passive and subordinate roles for women. She helped Jason to return back to Corinth as a victorious adventurer by slaying the dragon and helping him secure the Golden Fleece. She also took the opportunity to secure a safe abode with Aegeus in exchange for medicine to cure his infertility. From all this, we can conclude that Medea is not a passive being, but an individual in her own way. She does not cry her sorrows away but instead plans calculated rebuttals. She wants justice and payment for her broken heart and she achieves this by killing Glauce and her own children.


Euripides ends Medea by employing a deus ex machina in which Helios, Medea’s grandfather, sends her a flying chariot which she takes, with the bodies of her dead children, to Athens. This puts Medea on a high pedestal and leaves Jason in a cinematic ending. Medea is a wronged woman but at the same time a monster who commits filicide. The entire play is structured in a way that it stands with Medea. Her bestial actions are justified in her own way for she believes she has the Gods with her.


 
Source: Google Images



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