Violent Love As Shown In Euripides's Medea

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Victoria Griswell
Mrs. Raines
World Literature 1
25 April 2015
Violent Love as Shown in Medea
In the play, Medea, written by Euripides, love is violent. Love motivates Medea throughout the play. Love drives Medea to break the rules of Athenian social behavior by committing murder, and the end defies man’s act, in spite of not knowing that it could cost her, her very own life.
Medea has an undying love for Jason, which leads her to commit several acts, which are abhorred in the Athenian society. The love Medea felt for Jason, overpowers her own moral judgment, which causes her to carry out the wicked act of murdering her own children. In the play the nurse states that if Medea would not have fallen in love with Jason, “then my mistress Medea Would not have sailed for the towers of the land of Iolcos, Her heart on fire with passionate love for Jason” (Euripides 616). Jason then leaves Medea for Glauce. Medea lays collapsed in agony, not eating, in shame and scorned, dissolving the long hours in tears and suffering (Euripides 617). Jason’s abandonment provokes Medea to murder her own children. Her murderous actions demonstrate the power of love that Medea has for Jason.
Throughout the play, Medea’s desire to exact revenge against Jason is driven by her love for him. The shocking scene of Medea murdering her own children represents the force of Jason's betrayal of Medea; Medea’s reaction to this betrayal shows her passionate character, which is driven by love and causes the act of murder. This murder was seen as a transgression to the Athenian society, as it was exorbitant; even though the power of Jason's betrayal is overriding, it is not an excuse to kill the innocent. The fact that she murdered her own sons further magnifies Medea's selfish and greedy character, leading to her only motive, which is to destroy Jason because of his betrayal. The murder of her sons represents the intensity of the hatred Medea felt for Jason, because without his sons, he has no one to carry on his family line. This thought relates to the values of the Athenian society, where sons are regarded as more important than daughters, because they carry the family line in future generations. Through the act of killing her sons, it is evident that her love for Jason is immense, and thus shows that love is a primary factor, which guides the actions of Medea’s primary character.
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