“The success of a play depends not on our liking, or approving of, the characters but on whether we recognize in them something of ourselves.”
Say how far you would agree or not with this view of characters in Medea, discussing how characters are presented and with what effect.
‘Medea’ by Euripides is a play written in Ancient Greece, 431 BC that tells the story of Medea and Jason after the events of the popular Greek myth of ‘Jason and the Argonauts’. ‘Medea’ was written in a time that was dominated by men and Euripides cast new light on the status of women in society as not just property of men but independent thinkers. Euripides also depicts a Jason character who is not the hero created in the original story of ‘Jason and the Argonauts’ but rather an arrogant, self-serving man, especially through the eyes of the women of Corinth, our setting. This different representation of gender was a controversial one for the purely male audience and the play’s lack of success in Ancient Greece demonstrates how little they saw themselves in the characters. However, the play’s presence in literature thousands of years after its initial performances demonstrates its success now, suggesting that society is now able to recognize itself in the characters of Medea.
The character of Medea is passionate but also ruthless and manipulative, traits that were not often associated with women in Ancient Greece but have developed slowly into key assets of a successful woman. We are introduced to Medea by the Nurse through a unique retelling of the popular ‘Jason and the Argonauts’ story. The monologue suggests, through the repetition of ‘if’, that Medea’s current fate is the result of aiding Jason in his quest and would not have come about otherwise. The introduction is complimentary toward Medea and when we learn further into the monologue that despite Medea being all ‘obedience’ she has been spurned in favour of a ‘royal bed’ by Jason, the reader sees her as the victim of a cheating husband. Indeed she is ‘Poor Medea’ who ‘wails’ and wishes ‘if only [she] were dead’ so our original image of her is one of weakness and submission but this is replaced quickly. Medea is ‘frightening’ and calls curses down upon Jason and his new royal wife from backstage. When she emerges however, she is ‘cool and self-possessed’, noted in the stage directions, and launches into a speech that describes the status of women in society as ‘wretched’ with men as their ‘possessor[s]’. Medea’s demeanour in this scene make her statements seem as if they are facts yet would not be acceptable in Ancient Greece but well noted in present day. Her cool exterior changes suddenly with the entrance of King Creon and the audience sees her manipulative side. She seemingly becomes emotion-driven and ‘cling[s]’ to Creon in an attempt to gain an extra day in Corinth after he announces she has been banished. The ploy works and Creon exits, leaving Medea to a dark monologue where she talks of the revenge she will strike upon Jason. Medea’s encounter with Jason demonstrates her ruthlessness as she determines his quest was successful only with her aid and attempts to guilt him with recounts of her sacrifices to ensure his success. Medea decides to commit the horrific crime of infanticide, consolidating an image of ruthlessness even if her determination to commit the crime wavers when she sees her children’s ‘bright young faces’. She does murder her children though to hurt Jason, as they are his legacy, something extremely important to men both in Ancient Greece and now. In Medea the audience can see a desperate ruthlessness and unbound passion that is also present in our current society, often resulting in similar circumstances to those of ‘Medea’.
Jason is not portrayed as the hero in ‘Medea’ as he was in the original legend as Euripides casts him in a negative light with his lack of consideration of others in his pursuit for fame, reflecting the mindset of
