Essay On Medea Character Development
Is Medea´s development through the story the one of a hero or of a mentally unstable? Medea´s character development consists mainly in the transition from suicidal to child-killing hero (or some say). Said transition consists mainly of a physiological struggle between reason and passion, which can be perceived as the struggle of a hero or the struggle of a mentally unstable and sexual-jealous person. The main objective of this essay is to explore these two options in order to develop a more clear understanding of the characteristics of Medea and her actions. At the beginning of the play Medea demonstrates a suicidal and depressing state of mind cause by the psychological harm that her soon to be ex-husband has caused her when he decides to leave her in order to marry Creon´s daughter. This statement becomes clear when she say “Oh, oh! What misery, what wretchedness what shall I do? If only I were dead!” and “Come, flame of the sky, pierce through my head I what do I gain from living any longer? Oh, how I hate living! I want to end my life, leave it behind, and die.” However, Medea does not stay in that …show more content…
It demonstrates that she is willing to do anything she can in order to change what she thinks is wrong. In fact, according to the text “The Worst Husband” by Laura McClure from the Chicago Journal, Medea demonstrate how she is a hero due “to her inability to tolerate injustice or disrespect” and her “strong preoccupation with avoiding the laughter of her enemies, a potential source of shame and fear: "In dying I will become a joke to my enemies"” this Author also states that “Like a hero, she wishes to appear formidable and invincible rather than vulnerable in the face of her opponents: "Let no one think me trifling and weak, or gentle, but of the opposite temperament, difficult to my enemies and well-disposed to my
Jeffer's Adaptation Of Medea
190 Words | 1 PagesUnspectacularly, the Jeffers adaptation of Medea is quite a disappointment painting Medea as an animal with no “reason” or human-like thought in regards to her decisions. “QUOTE”. Consistently compared to animals, Medea rarely gains the respect as the incredibly intelligent human-being that Medea should have. On countless occasions, Medea remains seen as an animal, including, “I shall not die perhaps as a pigeon does. Nor like an innocent lamb, that feels a hand on its head and looks up from the knife to the man’s face and dies – No, like some yellow-eyed beast that has killed its hunters let me lie down” (Jeffers, 28.)
Examples Of Creon In Antigone
1321 Words | 6 PagesAristotle once said, "A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall." In the play, Antigone, by Sophocles, King Creon is the main tragic hero, because of the decisions he made leading to his destruction. After the death of Polyneices and Eteocles, Creon was crowned King of Thebes. All of the citizens of thebes feared Creon because of the prideful tone he showed in his first speech, and in Aristotle’s description of a tragic hero, the character almost always displays excessive pride. Another decision that Aristotle said most tragic heroes go through is an error in judgement, which Creon made when sentencing Antigone to death.
Examples Of Hubris In Antigone
1001 Words | 5 PagesAristotle’s ideal image of a tragic hero is someone pure hearted, an inspiration, and royalty with a tragic flaw. A tragic flaw consists of weaknesses like hubris, ruthless ambition, or jealousy. The story all began when Oedipus fulfilled his legacy and then had four children, Antigone, Ismene, Polyneices, and Eteocles. Polyneices and Eteocles got into an argument which results in both of them killing each other and Creon is left as the new King of Thebes; however, Creon only buries Eteocles body and leaves Polyneices body to rot outdoors. This starts conflict within the family.
Creon Antigone Tragic Hero
633 Words | 3 PagesTragic heroes characterize tragedies because they tell the tragic story of those heroes and their tragic flaws. In the book Antigone written by Sophocles, we are met with many characters of the book, and the tragic hero is depicted into two characters, Antigone and Creon. We see the tragic death of Antigone as she took her life in the end of the book, and Creon the king of Thebes, who also faces his tragedy in the book. To begin with, Antigone tells the story that depicts the tragedy of Antigone, who also seems to be the tragic hero.
Achilles And Achilles In The Iliad And Medea Analysis
780 Words | 4 PagesIn Medea by Euripides, Medea 's character flaw that ultimately led to her downfall is revenge. Medea 's husband Jason left her to marry a younger, beautiful woman. Medea becomes outraged, and all she thinks about is getting revenge. She kills Glauce, Jason 's new wife, and her father, Creon. She wanted her revenge to be perfect she even killed her own children to get revenge on Jason leaving her.
Medea Rhetorical Analysis
559 Words | 3 PagesI want Medea to be justified in her actions, but I want this to be something that could happen to anyone. I don’t want her actions to be considered ‘what women do.’ There is also this theme of feminism and standing up for women in general. She criticizes men while using her wit to maneuver the situation properly. Medea is a cunning woman confined to this world dominated by men.
Euripides Mede Mental Illness
1511 Words | 7 PagesAs the play begins, Medea has stopped eating and spends her days locked within her own house. She can be heard moaning and rambling from within her home. She even wishes she would die, saying things like, “I am miserable, unhappy in my labors! Oh me, I wish I were dead.” As we as, “I wish I could cast off this hateful life and take my rest in death!”
Archetypes In Antigone
824 Words | 4 PagesGreek tragedies are known for their predictable endings and characters, whose character traits almost always stereotypically reflect those of the archetype they have been assigned. Sophocles’ play, Antigone, is no exception to this. Despite having been written around 441 B.C., his play does present newer controversial topics such as feminism in his play, along with more common themes such as integrity and loyalty. By establishing and associating Antigone’s character with heroic archetypes as the martyr and the tragic heroine, Sophocles could utilize her actions and characteristics as such roles to better demonstrate and convey his messages throughout his work.
Justice In Medea's Hero Ethic
341 Words | 2 Pages”Medea is portrayed as reacting to Jason’s betrayal by “doing what other heroes before her had done...when confronted with an enemy. She schemes, she tricks, she deceives,” and she seeks revenge on those who have harmed her. Medea enforces this notion that she is merely doing what any self-respecting man, Greek, or Hero would do when she scoffs at Creon's concern over her type, stating: “A woman like me!
Sympathy In Euripides's The Medea
1118 Words | 5 PagesIn Euripides’ text The Medea, Medea can easily be painted as the villian. She is a woman who killed her own children in an attempt to spite her husband. But, by examining the text, we can see that she deserves some sympathy. She has little to no control over her own life and has to rely on the will of men. And as a foreigner in Corinth abandoned by her husband, she faces even more challenges than the native women of Corinth did.
Medea Quote Analysis
1434 Words | 6 PagesMedea has already lost her husband and her home so this decision is an obvious one for her. She wants to leave everyone in the same misery that she has been experienced and continues to experience. After this, she even plans to murder her own children just to distress Jason further. Medea knows that she will live in regret and misery by doing so, but her need to sadden Jason trumps her own future feelings. The murder of her sons also symbolizes the death of her marriage with Jason.
Examples Of Injustice In Medea
727 Words | 3 PagesMedea was treated unfairly in the patriarchal society that she lived in and due to the circumstances she was forced to abide by, she sought to achieve her own form of justice. Women were mistreated and regarded as inferior to men. In fact, Medea mentioned how women were like foreigners forced to abide by their husband’s laws and remain subservient. Essentially, women were treated as outsiders and were thought to need constant protection from male figures. So, when the King of Corinth kicked her and her children out of Corinth and Jason left them, she wanted revenge since she felt she had been wronged.
Medea Argumentative Essay
1607 Words | 7 PagesLush explains “Although Euripides did not cast Medea as a male solider as its protagonist, the play depicts Medea as suffering from the background Trauma, betrayal, isolation and consequent symptoms attributed to combat veterans with lasting psychological injuries” (Lush, 2014, p. 25). Hence using Lush’s view on Medea’s character as a devoted warrior suffering from Traumatic hardships in her experiences with the man she gave everything to, we can understand why she wanted revenge. Medea believes Jason owes her more than just the normal husband-wife obligations a man swears to when marrying a woman; in her view, she helped him be the man that he is and supported him throughout his heroic journey. Without her, Jason would not have succeeded in retrieving the Golden Fleece. Without her, he would not have had his father resurrected.
Euripides's Role Of Women In Medea
1010 Words | 5 PagesEuripides created a modern day woman who seeks justice and revenge with her cleverness and power. Medea acted as a feminine heroine who established that women can also be as strong as men. The feeling of being left by someone you love is truly painful hence, Medea expressed her emotions as much as she can and mourned for her lost. It is true that women can be sensitive and emotional so there was Medea portraying a usual woman in an unusual manner.
Theme Of Revenge In Medea
1135 Words | 5 PagesMedea, the protagonist, is a woman driven by extreme emotions and extreme behaviors. Because of the passionate love she had for Jason, she sacrificed everything .. However, now his betrayal of her transformed the beautiful loving passion to uncontrollable anger, hatred and a desperate desire for revenge. Her violent and temperamental heart, previously devoted to Jason, now moving towards its doom.
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