Euripides' Medea

A British Feminist Analysis of Medea's Soliloquy

Oct 18, 2008 Jennifer M. Willhite

The rage Medea feels consumes her when she addresses Jason in the aftermath of his affair. Her uncensored language is considered unbecoming of a woman in her position.

In the first lines of her soliloquy, Medea addresses Jason's unfaithfulness by saying, "It is not even audacity; it's a disease,/The worst a man can have, pure shamelessness."

Such openness is something that was not looked up as becoming of a lady. If a woman were to have conducted herself in the same manner as Jason, she would have been looked upon as a whore, or an adultress -- or both.

False Marriage

She fully recognizes the double standard which she is witnessing. The realization of her mistake of marrying Jason further feeds her rage. Medea speaks of leaving her father and her home with a naive sense of being blessed to pursue her life as Jason's wife. Their marriage would be shattered by his indiscretions, which Medea never dreamed he even possessed inclination.

A Woman's Place

The way in which Medea is portrayed to the audience is a reflection of how women in her position were treated at the time. She has been betrayed by her husband, alienated and completely emotionally abandoned.

The Ultimate Betrayal

With her anger consuming her, Medea contemplates and executes the most brutal act a mother could ever conceive. The act brands her a woman who is "mad" and "unstable." In her position, Medea is dependent upon Jason; for herself, but foremost for her children.

Since women were not allotted the same rights and flexibility that men were -- especially when it came to relationships. Medea sees no other way than to follow through with her gruesome plan.

Jason's adulterous actions are shaded by a justification, which he explains as moving up the social ladder and securing is children's futures. He possesses the right and there should be no questions asked. After all, he is a man. He is in charge.

British Feminism

British feminism contends that the ways women are depicted in life have a direct link to the ways in which they are treated.

Medea's character is depicted as someone who has placed herself in a situation where the man has complete control. Jason completely controls Medea in the domestic setting. He also wields control over her through their children. Such actions only serve to reinforce the ideal of male domination over women.

Medea's murder of their children only reinforces the male opinion that women can become "mad," and driven to extreme measures if circumstances -- in the woman's mind -- seems to warrant such action.

To exhibit this type of control over the female, as Jason does, is something which was common to literary works of the time Medea was written. But then, after all, art imitates life.

Euripides. Medea and Other Plays. London: Penguin Books, 1963.

The copyright of the article Euripides' Medea in World Literatures is owned by Jennifer M. Willhite. Permission to republish Euripides' Medea in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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