Betrayal In Medea

If Medea were to be alive today, she would probably be in jail or a mental hospital. In the play Medea written by Euripides, Medea has uncontrollable emotions that inflict severe pain to others. Not to her extremes, but I can relate to her emotions and the feeling of being betrayed by someone loved. Even living almost two thousand years ago, the people watching this play experienced the same feelings that we do now. Also, the qualities one may possess that are either considered good or bad are the same now to when Medea lived. Medea shows qualities of betrayal, murder, and schadenfreude which would be considered as bad qualities to the society. Medea betrayed her family and home country. Where you are from defines who you are and your family

The reasoning behind these murders may have been more justified, but her anger and depression got the best of her. She is angry and depressed because the man she betrayed her country and family for ditches her to be with another woman. Jason exiles her and their children so he can marry and become king. When talking about her ex-husband, Medea mentions her “husband, who was everything to [her] is the worst of men (lines 229-230). Talking to Jason, the chorus, which seemed like the voice of reason throughout the play, agrees saying “though you may disagree: you have betrayed your wife. You’ve been unjust” (lines 557-558). These quotes show Medea’s anger is within reason; however, she may have been too extreme. To get revenge on her horrid husband, she plans to kill Jason’s wife and children. Medea sends poisonous clothes to the potential wife, Glauce. Not only did Glauce die, but her father Creon as well. On top of ruining his future marriage, Medea stuns Jason by killing their sons. The chorus proclaimed “[the] children are dead, killed by their mother’s hand” (line 1354). She dramatically flies above the roof in a chariot carrying the bodies of their dead sons. Being a murder has never been perceived as a positive aspect for someone to