Medea, simply crazy or wronged dearly? (Blog #4)

Jason's vow of eternal effection (one that he did not keep).

Throughout the entire play, I perceived Medea in different ways. It almost seems as if she was bipolar. Her attitude towards different characters also continued to change the way I viewed Medea. I think that Medea had three main attitudes in the play; of anger, of desperation, and of sympathy. These three attitudes appear and reappear one after another, depending on which character Medea is engaging with. Because Medea seemed to have so many different personalities, I was a little bit confused about her real intentions. I was stuck between the idea that she wanted to kill everyone that was close to Jason, or that she wanted to call a truce between herself and Jason.

In lines 111-115 Medea curses her own children, along with their father (Jason). At this point of the play Medea has just been introduced, her story told by the Nurse and Chorus. I immediately imagined Medea in my mind as a woman with beauty equivalent to her anger. I was a bit shocked when Medea's first words in the play were against her own kin. This showed me that the hate and anger she had towards Jason was beyond what I had imagined. Until she meets the king of Athens, Aigus, I saw Medea as someone who was out for blood, and was cold blooded herself.

Medea and her children, 

In lines 708-717 Medea becomes a desperate woman, and she engages in a conversation with Aigus. I thought Medea was very clever talking to Aigus, first she addresses his problems and needs, that shows that she is friendly and cares about Aigus. Withi that being done, she tells him her problem and being the king of Athens, Aigus gladly and eagerly agrees to help her find shelter. My perspective on Medea in this point of the story became cloudy and I was confused on whether she really wanted to go and destroy Jason, or was now a desperate widow trying to find shelter for her and her children.

After the passage in lines 868-905 Medea has almost completed her plan. She has convinced Jason to "forgive" her for all her wrong doings and is about to send her children with they poison gifts for the princess. I now saw Medea as one of the sneakiest woman of all of history. I had much respect for Medea, able to trick her enemies and gain strong alliances. I also felt a little bit of contempt towards Medea because I knew she was planning to kill her own children.

I think Euripides let Medea escape to show the reader that neither Jason nor Medea have been shown justice for each of their cruel acts.

After all the deaths, Medea rides away in her chariot, neither in victory or loss, but successful in her revenge.

http://www.chicagooperatheater.org/medeas-story/

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/medea.html

http://www.theatrehistory.com/ancient/bates018.html