Binary Oppositions In Medea And The Bacchae

In literature, there are often different “sides” in the story. Good vs. evil, wrong vs. right, these are examples of differing themes called binary oppositions. As noted in Corey Marvin’s Understanding Binary Oppositions in Literature, he simplifies this seemingly complex idea as this, “It simply describes a pair of theoretical opposites or thematic contrasts,” (Marvin, page 1). In Euripides’ plays Medea and The Bacchae, several key binary oppositions can be seen. The two major oppositions are that of morality and immorality, and piety against impiety which can both be interpreted as wronging and rectification. So, binary oppositions can be thought of as differing themes in a story that are in conflict with each other. But to clarify, what

However, Medea, with the concern of marriage and oaths, is more solely focused on this opposition. In this story, Medea is married to Jason, and he decides to leave her for the princess of Corinth, breaking the oath between them. Not only that, Medea kills her children to teach Jason, the immoral one, a lesson. In The Bacchae, Pentheus is concerned with the women of his town, breaking from their duties and becoming wild and immoral. But in Dionysus' eyes Pentheus is the immoral one, because even after his miraculous signs, he refuses to believe that Dionysus is god. In both stories, the immoral "faction" has done a wrong and the "moral" fight against

With knowledge from Understanding Binary Oppositions in Literature, a reader can analyze and explain binary oppositions so as to give proof of the concept. In Euripides' plays, these binary oppositions play a significant role in the development of the plot. Whether it be morality versus immorality, or piety versus impiety, both Medea and The Bacchae have these oppositions as key ideals to the story. Without these opposing themes, the story would be very stale and lifeless. Needless to say, without a knowledge of these oppositions, reading comprehension would be far less, if none at