A Figure Medea and Justice in the Epic Poem of Euripides - Essay Example

?Medea and Justice The paper deals with the discussion about the main characteristics of Medea from epic poem of Euripides. This is a femalecharacter, representing a strong female character. On the other hand, Medea is often considered as a cruel, heartless woman, who killed her children. In this research paper we will further claim that actions of Medea are justified. This claim is supported by two main abstracts: the first abstract can be summarized in the words chosen from the beginning of the play: “Medea’s life is the greatest glory” (810). The second abstract from the end of the poem can be summarized by words from the second abstract (1240): “I'll do it—kill my children now, without delay, and flee this land. I must not hesitate”. As far as we can see, Medea reaches her goal and preserves her principles though she has to kill her children. Introduction Medea is a strong female character, created by Euripides. It is a collective image of female features, such as intricacy, strength of mind, self-dependency, self-esteem and many others. Thus, Euripides creates a collective image of a powerful femme fatal. It is interesting to analyze limits of Medea’s inner strength, because it seems that this woman will not stop before anything. There are no boundaries for her; she has answers to any questions. Medea’s character overview Medea in her marriage acted like a good wife. She did not care about Jason’s transgressions and his will to power. When she felt that Jason needed their sons only like tools to reach power, she killed them. It may sound too weird: to justify a woman, who killed her own sons. On the other hands, it is necessary to realize her purpose of acting in such a way. In the course of a poem, Medea claims: Let no one think that I'm a trivial woman, a feeble one who sits there passively.    No, I'm a different sort—dangerous    to enemies, but well disposed to friends.                                      960     Lives like mine achieve the greatest glory.                                           [810] It sound like she justifies any actions taken by her, but on the other hand it is quite clear that this woman IS a representation of justice. It can be even further supposed, that Medea is a prototype of a goddess of justice, Themis. Her eyes are closed and she has no feelings but her actions are triggered by a pure reason. She has masterfully created a plan of revenge. Thus, this woman made her sons to give poisoned gifts and turned them into killers. Automatically, she stained Jason’s name and he could not think about power anymore, because he was a father of assassins. He lost everything he had and needed to reach his goals: his sons, his bride, his potential to have power in the future. All these drastic consequences were developed by his ex-wife. Thus, Medea is positioned as a perfect cunning strategist, who is fighting for justice against cowardice and betrayal. Moreover, it is possible to make analysis of Medea’s character as a supernatural object, demigod and many other characters. We will focus our discussion on Medea’s character as the reflection of female strength. Consequently, her actions should be interpreted as a completion of a goal chosen by a strong individual. She has passed along a thorny path and she finally reaches liberation and freedom. Thus, Euripides shows to his readers that a process of reaching a goal is a complicated and challenging process. Medea has come to the end of it and had to complete all goals she has come across in her searching. In other words, Euripides shows that a mortal woman becomes free, when she has gone through sick and thin. The time of the demons is over Their prey has escaped, or died All who would be forcibly enslaved, All who would be trapped screaming against their will. The time has come for their freedom. The time for fulfillment dawns, And the golden light bathes humankind. The time of the demons is over. (60) Still, it is interesting to discuss the ways of Medea’s character transformation. Metaphorically, Medea is gradually changing into the Sun God and Jason with his sons is presented as demons. Thus, her killing of their children is a depiction of the eternal fight between good and evil. Her empowerment is transferred by means of her transformation. We can thus claim that rebirth and transformation of a strong female character coincides with a materialist feminist perspective. Euripides stays estranged. He does not show that killing children is justified; he just shows the existence of true and false lives, an eternal fight between Good and Evil. I've made up my mind, my friends.       I'll do it—kill my children now, without delay,       and flee this land. I must not hesitate.       That will hand them over to someone else,       to be slaughtered by a hand less loving.                                       1460       No matter what, the children have to die.       Since that's the case, then I, who gave them life,                                [1240]       will kill them. In these lines Euripides clearly underlines a strong female character, a strong-willed woman, who follows her own principles and keeps her word. Her actions are not expression of cruelty; her actions comply with her initial positioning of herself as a woman, whose life would reach the greatest glory. Medea goes into extremity. Her actions are directed on protection of her pure love to Jason. She would kill anyone who would dare to destroy their love. Medea is madly in love. There is no rationality in actions of this woman. On the other hand, Medea is a strong character, whose goals are tremendous. She is very demanding person, but at the same time she acts in such a way, because she is too principled woman. She is impatient to enemies and she is impatient to destroying features of a human nature (cowardice, a lack of principles, betrayal), all those features, which she saw in her husband Jason. She cannot understand how is it possible to be such a destroyed person? Thus, she starts up her fight against human vices. Medea is initially presented as a controversial character. She steals from her father, kills his own brother and children. It looks like Medea sees only black and white colors in life. Everything in her life is either good or bad for her. She has basic values in her life: O my country and my home,       I pray I never lack a city,       never face a hopeless life,       one filled with misery and pain.                                                    770 Jason turned from a beloved man into the cruelest enemy for her, because their “basic points” do not coincide anymore. He does not have the same values, as Medea has: The man who shames his family,   [660]       who doesn't open up his heart       and treat them in all honesty—       may he perish unlamented.       With him I never could be friends. Therefore, he betrayed not only her and their children in the name of power and greedy, but he questioned her basic values, which turned out to be more precious for her, than even her children. Moreover, this woman is a strong-willed person. This fact was evident from the very beginning. Thus, enemies victory against her is an unbearable fact. Thus, she does not want that her children could face with their enemies and be conquered by them. Medea is ready for revenge. There are no alternatives for her before her enemies. She wants to conquer them and that is all she needs. Even in case that she has to kill her children, she pays a price at whatever cost. At the moment of her “bad actions” performance, this woman released her cruel inner potential. She locked her inner feelings inside of her. Medea is triggered by her own instinct and he does not hesitate at all. Euripides criticizes Medea’s actions:        The polluting moral stain       that taints all mortal men       who shed their family blood       upon the earth—that's hard to bear.       For the gods send down       onto the houses of the ones who kill       sorrows to match their crimes. Conclusion Euripides shows a transformation of Medea’s character. It can be even claimed, that Euripides shows a circular transformation of Medea: from an assertive, principled woman, to a strong-willed, heartless and asexual individual. Thus, a woman transcends emotional borders; she is triggered by her pure reason. The author concludes: A woman's marriage bed—    [1290]       so full of pain—how many evils, (1540)       has it brought on humankind? These final lines by Euripides give us a hint that the author wanted to accuse woman of the world’s sins. A marriage is presented by Euripides as a vicious place producing sorrows and grief. Thus, by means of an unusual female character, Euripides shows that a woman is the reason of humankind suffering. Even in case, when a woman can separate her feelings from her pure reason, evils may occur as well. Medea’s character should not be treated as a cruel woman, but as an embodiment of justice, reasoning and principality. Works cited 1. Medea by Euripides. Web. 11 August, 2011. Available from: . Read More