Medea is a representative of those who live at the fringes of civilization. Like the wolf, her intelligence, ferocity and ability to live outside the bounds of civilized society strike terror in the hearts of regular man as well as kings such as Creon. Her association with Hecate affords her further status as an outsider much as the Maenads and Satyrs who compose the retinue of Dionysus.
As Hecate was often a protective figure, it makes sense that Medea was able to protect Jason. Unfortunately the methods that Medea used further alienated her from her family and any other representatives of civilized society. It is also ironic that her willingness to achieve victory at any cost is seen as negative, especially when it is an honored trait of other heroes such as her husband.
The crimes that Medea finally commits in the pursuit of her revenge seem to be against nature as well as the laws of man and would make an audience of any time shudder. Her unyielding focus on revenge finally overcame her mother's heart as she killed her own children to spite her husband. Medea gets away in the end of the play and that may seem unfair; but remember that she is allied with the gods and seems to have different set of rules to play by. Overall it seems more cautionary towards oathbreakers such as Jason. He was really only a hero by the help of his wife Medea and her powers. Without her and her aid he is just a man, and not a very good one.
What makes this play a tragedy is the emphasis on love denied or unfulfilled between Medea and Jason as well as between Jason and his new wife. Also of great importance is the finality of the deaths that occur here. We know that these children as well as Jason's new wife all met a a terrible end and there is no consolation for that. Overall the tragedy is obsessed with dissolution, loss and grief. Ultimately it is the shattering of life's temporal forms here that causes such intense grief because of the intensity of our attachment to children. In the classic sense this is a tragedy because of Jason's fall from a state of high position and happiness to his ultimate end in obscurity. It is my opinion that the mythological perspective of the tragedy here is really more relevant to most readers. Most readers probably don't feel much sympathy for Jason as it seems he brought his troubles down upon himself through his own poor judgement and selfishness.
Regardless of the interpretation, it is a chilling remindder of the power of the goddess to destroy as well as create. It also shows the fear that most people have of such a remoreseless killing. So it sometimes is in nature that the mother cat will devour her kittens or leave them to die. It happens in the natural world and this play reminds of that destructive power the goddess holds.
As Hecate was often a protective figure, it makes sense that Medea was able to protect Jason. Unfortunately the methods that Medea used further alienated her from her family and any other representatives of civilized society. It is also ironic that her willingness to achieve victory at any cost is seen as negative, especially when it is an honored trait of other heroes such as her husband.
The crimes that Medea finally commits in the pursuit of her revenge seem to be against nature as well as the laws of man and would make an audience of any time shudder. Her unyielding focus on revenge finally overcame her mother's heart as she killed her own children to spite her husband. Medea gets away in the end of the play and that may seem unfair; but remember that she is allied with the gods and seems to have different set of rules to play by. Overall it seems more cautionary towards oathbreakers such as Jason. He was really only a hero by the help of his wife Medea and her powers. Without her and her aid he is just a man, and not a very good one.
What makes this play a tragedy is the emphasis on love denied or unfulfilled between Medea and Jason as well as between Jason and his new wife. Also of great importance is the finality of the deaths that occur here. We know that these children as well as Jason's new wife all met a a terrible end and there is no consolation for that. Overall the tragedy is obsessed with dissolution, loss and grief. Ultimately it is the shattering of life's temporal forms here that causes such intense grief because of the intensity of our attachment to children. In the classic sense this is a tragedy because of Jason's fall from a state of high position and happiness to his ultimate end in obscurity. It is my opinion that the mythological perspective of the tragedy here is really more relevant to most readers. Most readers probably don't feel much sympathy for Jason as it seems he brought his troubles down upon himself through his own poor judgement and selfishness.
Regardless of the interpretation, it is a chilling remindder of the power of the goddess to destroy as well as create. It also shows the fear that most people have of such a remoreseless killing. So it sometimes is in nature that the mother cat will devour her kittens or leave them to die. It happens in the natural world and this play reminds of that destructive power the goddess holds.
I find it sad that Medea became so consumed by her need for revenge against Jason that she killed her own children. I can see why she would do horrible things to his new wife, which he left her for, but to her own children, I don't get that. She was lucky she had the gods on her side, because if something like that were to happen today, she would probably end up in a psychiatric ward for the rest of her life, always reminded of the horrible things she did all for revenge.
ReplyDeleteI agree how scary the goddesses can be. They hold life in their own hands. Medea has the power to create and destroy life. Both of which see does- destroy and create. How sad and crazy she must have been to be able to even kill her own children.In some respects it is almost a punishment to herself not alone a punishment to Jason because they are her children too. In reality women today still have both powers- creation and destruction. Some women choose to do both and others only create. In any situation Medea must have been really far gone to take her own child's lives. It only proves that love can drive one insane enough to do just about anything.
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