Medea Persuasive Essay

Although Medea is ruthless in her actions, she also displays some compassion for her children while describing her plan to hurt Jason(25, 768). By the end of the play, Medea kills her children, this is due to her unwavering desire to inflict suffering on Jason in revenge. Her desire to hurt Jason is fulfilled but at a cost; by killing her children medea inflicts inflicts suffering upon herself. Medea replies by saying “so it must be” when the chorus told her “Of women you will be most unhappy,” essentially acknowledging that she has

For Medea must fall in love with Jason and then she will use her great skill with magic to help Jason acquire the fleece. Because of Hera’s hatred towards Pelias Medea’s life is now destined for extreme agony, shame, and guilt. Her love for Jason causes her to tear away from her loving parents and dishonor her father by helping his enemy. Hera’s plan to avenge Pelias also flood Medea’s head with thoughts to keep her from straying from Hera’s plan. Unfortunately for Medea her decision to help Jason was not her own and was a careful thought out plan by Hera. Her life would never again be the same. Even though Jason promises to love her always and promises that she will be his wedded wife, he breaks this promise as soon as she become old and he is given the opportunity to marry royalty. Medea decisions were not in any way wise but if it were not for the arrows of Eros she would have had better judgment on the stranger. Medea’s behavior in this story shows that of loyalty and confusion in her heart. She is in agony because she can not conceive as to why she feels so much love for a stranger and does not wish to dishonor her father by doing so. But then she is constantly

She has no chance of being a hero because she acts out of hurt in her marriage and love turned to hate. She decides to murder the princess, her children, and leave Jason alone. The power Medea takes may be considered severe, yet she has made the decision not to be a silent wife who does what her husband tells her to do. David M. Schaps writes, “As Medea sees it-or at least as she presents it-her problems are all based in the fact that she is a woman. Because she is a woman she is powerless; because she is a woman she is peculiarly vulnerable in matters of love; because she is a woman she

First, we will look at the motive in this case. What could have possible motivated Medea to murder her children? Medea has been scorned by her husband, Jason, who left her for another woman (Puchner 529). You see, Creon has arranged for Jason to marry his daughter (Puchner 529). Jason, believing this would be the best decision he could make for his children, accepted Creon’s offer (Puchner 543). Medea could be heard wailing and crying out in rage from this betrayal (Puchner 532). So, Medea decides to break her husband’s heart, as he had broken hers, by killing their sons (Puchner 548). She could have easily left, after being exiled by Creon, and started a new life for herself and her children (Puchner 535). In a time where Medea could have

Commonly considered one of Euripides greatest pieces, Medea is an insightful depiction of how a woman’s love for her husband, churns into a gruesome revenge scheme against him. This tragedy illustrates a tale of a woman who challenges Greek societal norms. In the era that the story takes place; women are often seen in submissive roles. However, the play’s main character, Medea, challenges their customs through her actions against the Kingdom of Corinth and Jason.

Ever since she found out she had been betrayed by Jason, she has had “no pleasure left” in living. The only purpose left in her “cruel” and “accursed” life is to “strike dead” Jason, Creon and Glauce. Medea ends up killing Creon and his daughter but doesn’t make any attempt to kill Jason. To “perish his whole house” and “work revenge on Jason for his wrongs to [Medea]”, Medea plans to kill her two son as “it is the supreme way to hurt [her] husband”. Although Medea feels sad as shown by her “dewy eyes” and “these tears”, the audience are positioned to feel less sympathetic towards Medea due to her murderous actions towards her “own little

Euripides also carefully reveals the elements of Medea's past that demonstrate her readiness to violate solidarity of family ties in order to pursue her intractable will; Jason and Medea's original tryst, for example, required that she kill her own brother, thus choosing marriage ties over blood ties. Secondly, Medea's selfishness provides power to her fatal flaw. Medea's selfishness and lack of humanity is displayed through the act of killing her own two sons. Medea understands that the slaying of her children will make Jason miserable. During this time, the chorus recognizes her self-worship and states, “But can you have the heart to kill your flesh and blood” (Euripides, The Medea, 816)? Medea does not stop to think what pain she may cause to herself by murdering them. She is only concerned about her happiness that will be derived from Jason's grieving. Medea comes to the conclusion that it is worth the suffering just to see her ex-husband unhappy. Medea states, “Yes, for this is the best way to wound my husband” (Euripides, The Medea, 817). This exhibits Medea's selfishness by the slaying of her sons just to cause sorrow to Jason for her own pleasure. Medea's rage also leads to her fatal flaw of excessive passion. Her excessive passion, fed by rage, leads Medea to do uncalled-for acts of violence and murder.

Rejection from her husband and banishment from the King leaves Medea at the bottom of the hierarchy. Her life spins out of control, and she believes the answer to be revenge. She gave Jason power by committing murder when she helped him escape. Now that he abused that gift, Medea is blinded by desperation. She expresses her rage by saying “Things have gone badly every way.

The shocking addition of having a mother slaughter her own children makes a dark story even darker, it deepens the revenge and shocks the moral of the audience. Euripides manipulates the audience through traditional Greek play techniques to increase the intensity of the revenge, by playing with our thoughts and inviting his audience to question the way their society lives. Through the Chorus of Corinthian women Euripides directs the audiences view of Medea. Throughout the play the Chorus voices their opinion, influencing the audience to their point. Originally the Chorus celebrates Medea's desire for revenge, chanting “To punish Jason will be just” (line 267, p. 25), the audience agrees with the Chorus, Jason should be punished. Once the Chorus become aware of her intentions they turn against her, attempting to make her see reason and in the final ode they condemn her while acknowledging that her actions are the manifestation of a greater power and thereby re enforce Euripides tragic theme. The Chorus's 5 stasimons and short interventions during the play direct the audience's thoughts and opinions. As a tragic heroine Medea is a creation unique to Euripides, the psychological study of a woman entirely consumed by love and hate. He reminds us that her love for Jason resulted in the betrayal of her father, the murder of her brother and the murder of Pelias. Rejected, mocked and betrayed, her pride and hatred of Jason cause the destruction

Medea is the tragic story of a woman desperate for revenge upon her husband, after he betrayed her for another woman’s bed. It was written by Euripides, a Greek playwright, in 431 B.C. Throughout the play each character shows us their inconsistent and contradicting personalities, in particular, Jason and Medea. The play opens with the Nurse expressing her anxiety about Jason betraying and leaving Medea for another, wealthier, woman. Our initial reaction is to feel empathetic towards Medea, who has been abandoned so conveniently. But towards the end of the play, when Medea takes revenge on

As a mother, Medea on the surface is not the best, as she eventually kills her children, ignoring their pleas for mercy ("Mother, don't kill us"). However, we must not ignore the heartache and pain that Medea endures in killing them. It takes incredible conviction to carry it out ("parted from you, my life will be all pain and

ultimate act of revenge towards Jason. She is so set on getting back at him that she commits the most heinous of acts. She murders her two children. Jason's acts may have pushed her over the edge of sanity, but one can argue that even an insane person would take their own life over the lives of their own children. This brings the insanity to a whole new level.

Medea shows some inconsistency as she battles internally with her lust for revenge and her desire not to kill her own children. While Medea talks endlessly about exacting revenge and causing pain to Jason at whatever cost to her throughout most of the play, her resolve wavers as the reality of murdering her children approaches. As Molly has highlighted before me, Medea strengthens her resolve by changing her intentions and considering an argument for killing her children inconsistent with her previous thoughts, which is, as has been highlighted by Molly and the notes for the week, sadly all too common in those contemplating

Medea was a troubled soul once Jason left her for a younger princess. When the nurse says “Rulers are fierce in their temperament; somehow, they will not be governed;”, it rings very true of Medea (Puchner 531). Someone so accustomed to getting her way will by no means let anyone, including her beloved Jason, treat her with any disrespect. She not only felt dejected by Jason, but she felt she could do nothing to change her circumstance but take out deadly vengeance against those that committed such a hiatus act towards her. With all things considered, Medea felt Jason took everything from her when he left. Jason became her everything. When she

She continues to describe her state, “A typically unfair attitude, I suppose…” (316). Later, in the tragedy, Medea boldly leaves the house after murdering her own children in pursuit of satisfaction. Medea shows audiences the horror that can come when one lets the desire for revenge rule his/her life.