Clytemnestra And Medea Comparison

Similar to Clytemnestra, Medea is depicted as also being deceitful and full of hate. At the start of the play, it’s revealed that Medea’s husband, Jason, had left her and her two kids so that he can get a better life, work for the king, and marry the princess. This, rightfully so, made Medea angry at Jason for abandoning her and her children. However, the extent to which Medea is depicted as getting angry is a bit extreme. She lets her emotions overwhelm her and becomes filled with rage at Jason to the point that she wants to kill him. She rationalizes this by stating how hopeless her life is now, as she explains in lines 229-265, “I have no mother, no brother, no relative to offer me a safe haven from this disaster”(Medea), and she doesn’t

The plan works to perfection, and she even kills Creon, the king, when he tried to save her by touching the poisoned dress. Medea’s extremism is emphasized when she even kills her children. While Penelope and Clytemnestra would never even think of harming their children because of the amount of love they had for them, Medea is different as the only thing she wants is revenge, and is willing to kill her children to see Jason suffer. She even laments, “For it is not tolerable to be laughed at by my enemies” (Medea line 796), as a way of explaining how she won’t let her enemy, Jason, take advantage of her and must let do everything she can to punish him. Medea does show a loving, motherly side though. She states that she will “grieve over the deed [she] must do…for [she] shall kill [her] children” (Medea lines 790-791). This illustrates that Medea isn’t entirely psychopathic, as she feels some sympathy for her children and feels awful for having to go through with her plan. Overall though, Medea is a woman that is depicted as being full of revenge and overwhelmed with emotion, while also being a somewhat caring