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Author Topic: Medea Text Response - Challenging Question  (Read 966 times)  Share 

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GuZz

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Medea Text Response - Challenging Question
« on: October 15, 2018, 03:11:54 pm »
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Hi all,
Here is an essay I wrote, after selecting what I found to be, one of the harder questions from a list of practice prompts given to us for revision. Any feedback is appreciated.

It is the Chorus which predominantly drives the audience’s perception of characters in Medea. To what extent do you agree?

Euripides’ harrowing tragedy Medea explores an impassioned woman’s search for justice, in an era characterised by male dominance. Throughout the text, the Chorus, that embodies the views and values of Euripides’, drives some of the audience’s perception of the characters and their behaviour, however, the views of the audiences, both historical and modern, are primarily driven by society. Whilst the Chorus does have a clearly outlined intended effect on the audience, their stances are not as impactful as the actions of the characters themselves, ultimately leading to ancient and modern audiences being influenced by their societal views and values, which shape their perception of the characters and their actions.

The chorus in Medea possesses some power and influence over the perception of the characters and their actions, as presented by their clear and public stances on Medea and her behaviour throughout. The chorus is representative of the views and values of Euripides’ and therefore play a critical role in conveying his own personal agenda. Through the characterisation of the chorus, Euripides’ positions the audience to be initially sympathetic for Medea in her quest for justice. They agree to ‘say nothing’ when they hear of Medea’s plan for revenge and agree that ‘to punish Jason will be just’. This clear intention by the chorus, is intended to have the audience justify her behaviour, as she is too ‘suffer’ with the ‘house’ of Jason. The Chorus is supportive of the Medea, calling her to not let Jason’s fault ‘vex her’, leading the audience to be further sympathetic of the suffering she is experiencing and to understand the internal pain she is experiencing. Later, the Chorus encourages the audience to consider the strategic nature of Medea’s act of filicide and to consider if she was of sound mind. The Chorus mediates the crime, despite realising there is no crime as hideous as the ‘bloody-handed fiend of of injustice’. Whilst the Chorus recognises that Medea’s actions were despicable, they still attempt to influence the audience’s perception of her, by explaining that such actions are the ‘unexpected’ that ‘God makes possible’, as opposed to highlighting any faults that may have lead Medea to act in such a way.


The actions and behaviour of the characters have a significant effect on their perception by audiences, due to the radical nature of their decision making. The decision by Jason to leave his wife Medea, in a flurry of a self-interest is an act that has a significant impact on his perception by the audience, which may vary from a historical standpoint. In Ancient Greece it was common for men who became ‘dissatisfied with married life’, to ‘go outside and find relief’, which may lead historical audiences to be unaffected by Jason’s behaviour and instead find it unreasonable for Medea to claim injustice as a result. For modern audiences, the view may be very different, as Jason’s lack of remorse and inability to fix his wrongs, makes it difficult for audiences to sympathise with Jason and justify his actions, due to the dominance of the male patriarchy, enabling his behaviour. Jason’s new love contradicted that of his children, it is proposed that ‘the father does not love his sons but - his new wedding bed’, leading to Jason being depicted as a selfish and misogynistic representation of the Ancient Greek patriarchy, lead by and controlled by men and their dominant behaviour. Likewise, the actions of Medea lead to her being perceived differently by modern and historical audiences. The action of killing her own children is chilling and a shock for audience members, although the responses from both parties are likely to differ. On one side, historical audiences are likely to view this action as unjustifiable, and Medea as a mentally unstable mess, who only conducted herself in such a way because ‘passion is the master of her reason’, whereas modern audiences are more likely to justify her actions and view her as a hero in the face of crude injustice and by ‘doing so will hurt’ not only Jason but  the overarching male patriarchy ‘the most’.

Ultimately however, historical and modern audience's perception of the characters in Medea will be largely influenced by the society they are apart of, and the views and values in which society has instilled in them. Historical audiences likely have their societal views and values deeply challenged by the prospect raised by Euripides’; that a mother’s love for her children is not always unconditional. By being labelled as a ‘barbarian’, she is described as a foreign animal, fighting out against something outside of any thoughtful cause. The historical audience likely resonates with this description of a woman who self-deprecates herself in stating that ‘of all creations, women are the most wretched’, making it more difficult for historical audiences, particularly men, to resonate with her moral position. The inferiority of women in Ancient Greece, aids in shaping the audience's perception of Medea, as historical audiences were unlikely to acknowledge the challenges she faced. In contrast to modern audiences, historical audiences likely viewed Jason as the hero and will concur with his claims that Medea is an ‘unclean, abhorrent child-destroyer’. This is due in part to the xenophobic nature of Ancient Greece, that resulted in the audience viewing him as an innocent victim of Medea’s wrath. Conversely, modern audiences will perceive the characters differently, as a result of modern societal views and values. Medea’s early declaration “Do I not suffer? Am I not wronged?”, may resonate with modern audiences, as Medea has been abandoned as a young women, effectively rendering her position in society as useless. This situation resonates with the modern crisis of injustice and inequality for refugees, who have been ‘wronged’ through no fault of their own, but are forced to’ suffer’ the consequences. Furthermore, the continuing struggle for equal rights between the sexes in modern society, will likely lead modern audiences to perceive Jason as the ‘criminal’ due to the injustice he inflicts on Medea as a result of his greed and self-pride, challenging the societal role of men as ‘traitors in the bed’.

In summary, the perception of Medea and Jason is influenced by the Chorus and the stances in which they take throughout the text, additionally, the actions of the characters themselves also impact the way in which they are perceived but ultimately, the historical societal values held by ancient and modern audiences will have the greatest impact on the way in which the characters of Medea are perceived.
“If you define yourself by your power to take life, your desire to dominate, to possess, then you have nothing.” – Obi-Wan Kenobi


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