Medea Literary Analysis

Revenge can cause more damage than the original injury. Even in old Greek days people used revenge to hurt one another. In the ancient Greek tragedy Medea, a young woman named Medea gave up her family, home and country to be with a man named Jason. As they moved on in life, Jason then decided that he would leave her and his children for the princess, a royal bed. This caused Medea to be vengeful and go out on a rampage.

In a way, Shakespeare is implying that when women are allowed to make their own decisions and do what they want, it never results in anything beneficial. Gertrude chose her new king and in the process contributed immensely to the downfall of her son, Hamlet. On the other hand, Ophelia, Hamlet’s lover, is the perfect model for a young lady in those days. When her father advises her to steer clear of Hamlet, she immediately obeys him. She does what she is told, not questioning why, but accepting that that is the way that things are to be.

Women of this time period were expected to be obedient and chaste within their marriage, but it appears as though Luciana has taken this expectation beyond its actual intent. She states that she remains unmarried “because of what happens in the marriage bed,” which serves as a direct reference to sex and as a metaphor for the other controversial aspects of marriage (2.1.27). Not only does she desire to remain a virgin after and during marriage, but she is also troubled by some of the problems associated with marriage, like adultery. Here, Shakespeare is alerting the audience to the fatal flaw of hypocrisy that exists within many of us. In our own lives, we are often too quick to judge others and tell them how they should live, despite our limited knowledge on the intricacies of their situation.

As far as Psyche, in the beginning, she is a ingenue but later becomes a maiden to prove her worth to Venus. Finally, Psyche’s sisters would be villains since in their jealousy, they convince Psyche to almost murder Cupid. As far as the story line or situations, four main situations would be ‘the quest’ of Cupid to doom Psyche’s love life which causes a ‘star-crossed lover’ since Cupid’s mother sent him out of envy but he falls in love with Psyche. Afterwards, there is an ‘unrequited love’ due to the sisters’ words to Psyche which then leads to a ‘test or tasks’ for Psyche for Venus.

Thus, unlike the characters around her, such as the sneaky minister or the greedy lovers, Hester is the one character who lives by reality instead of appearance. The best example of this is her lifestyle before and after she is shunned. Before her exile, Hester recognizes the unjust nature of the laws around her. She refuses to follow them and present a façade of perfection and happiness.

Until Celie fell in love with Shug who Celie’s husband’s lover, her life as a step-mother and wife was awful. These three women changed each other’s lives and this changing becomes a turning point for them, especially for Celie. She grasped that there are a power in her hands and if she wants, she can change life by opening her eyes inside of her feminine self. Actually, The Color Purple is a movie which holding to the mirror to society. It shows that even if many people surrender social rules and act to women like a slave, women can resist to all oppressions.

According to De Beauvoir women’s inferiority is the result of the difference in the upbringing of both men and women. Women are socialized in a particular way to think that they are inferior to men. It is man who has the power to control the lives of women. A woman in the nineteenth century needed to be submissive, shy and docile as these are the characteristics needed for marriage so that the woman does not have to remain a

In 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.

Antigone, one of the first female protagonists in literature, is considered a tragic heroine whose downfall is due to the tragic flaw of her devotion to her family and her obsession with burying her brother Polyneices. Unlike the traditional Ancient Greek woman, Antigone is outspoken and defiant; these characteristics are both admired and abhorred by other characters in the play. For example, while Haimon praises her ability to stand as a voice for the masses against Kreon’s absolute rule, Kreon sees her justice-driven actions as a resistance against his rule. Antigone’s characterization is emphasized by her foil, Ismene, whose quiet and obedient persona only emphasizes Antigone’s dissimilarity to the average woman. However, Antigone’s obsession with burying Polyneices stems from her desire to obey divine rule, an aspect that was considered imperative in Ancient Greek society.

The “New Woman” idea became more popular as women expressed the desire for a more independent life. The idea that a woman could never amount to be socially or economically greater than men, an ideal that backlashed against the New Woman, is shown again when Daisy explains to Nick that she was saddened when she discovered she had given birth to a girl because all she could amount to was a “pretty fool”. Tom and Myrtle choose to have an affair together not because they are scared to leave their partners, but because they come from two different social classes and cannot marry each other or they will be looked down to by society. The affairs, excessive drinking, and the ideas surrounding women, all show the values of

Unlike many women, she was able to break away from the ideals of marriage, and free/liberate herself from the nightmare she was living in. Though it seemed like she was incapable of making “proper” decisions she knew what was best for herself. The character blatantly comes out and says “you” meaning John was the reason that she was imprisoned in his “game.”. The irony stems from how she always would blame herself for anything she felt she did wrong, but now blamed the cause for her problems, being John. Though she may have not won overall as she ended

A modern example is when Bell references misogyny and says, “devastated and disappointed that their daughter had not become the woman they raised her to be: a good girl who would marry her first boyfriend” (25). Unlike Colonial America, today’s country involves a less rigid view on women, but nonetheless still includes misogynistic ideals that need to be removed from society. For example, instead of women being expected to marry their first boyfriend, they are expected to not have many sexual partners, but still have enough sexual experience. Women are allowed more sexual freedom, but are still restricted to an imaginary line drawn by men. This is a classic case of sexually objectifying women, and making them look like they are only here to please males.

After being constantly oppressed for wanting and desiring irrational things as a woman, the last marriage with Tea Cake really brings out how conformity does save one harsh words from others, but it is only by going against the rules that one can be who they are and attain

As humans, we value the beauty of fairness and strive to be fair. However, part of Adri’s robotic transformation is due to favoritism in her daughters. Since Cinder, is an orphan than she does not deserve any resources and benefits from Adri, she must earn these things herself. An example of this is when Adri buys dresses for her two daughters in order for them to capture the prince’s heart and not one for Cinder, “ I can’t afford a ... new dress that you’ll only wear once. You’ll have to find your own gown for the ball.

Ophelia was a modern day good girl gone bad. She obeyed her father, Polonius, and brother, Laertes’, wishes to stay away from Prince Hamlet while trying to fight for her love for Hamlet and being herself. In the end her battle to please the men in her life, along with the constant betrayals and deaths, led to her own madness and death. Ophelia had become a fallen angel trying to please herself and those around her. Natalie Merchant portrayed this very well in her song lyrics entitled, Ophelia.