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Gender role in ancient greece
Medea role in the euripides
Gender role in ancient greece
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Gender role in ancient greece
Medea role in the euripides
Gender role in ancient greece
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Unspectacularly, the Jeffers adaptation of Medea is quite a disappointment painting Medea as an animal with no “reason” or human-like thought in regards to her decisions. “QUOTE”. Consistently compared to animals, Medea rarely gains the respect as the incredibly intelligent human-being that Medea should have. On countless occasions, Medea remains seen as an animal, including, “I shall not die perhaps as a pigeon does. Nor like an innocent lamb, that feels a hand on its head and looks up from the knife to the man’s face and dies – No, like some yellow-eyed beast that has killed its hunters let me lie down” (Jeffers, 28.)
Some keep it private; some are arrogant in public view” (Page 751 Lines: 212-215). The act of stepping out into the light is a form of acknowledging the women already view her in an ill manner. She clearly concocts a plan, so the women will not see her as the guilty one. The way she is viewed is not her fault, but the fault of the ones judging her. Medea makes it a point that she is aware how some may view her and that it is not fair to be thought
She is not blameless, in what she did, but she deserves some sympathy because of how she was immobilized by all the duties thrown on her by her society. Medea voices how she has been suppressed in her society. She notes, “We women are the most unfortunate creatures” (L 231). Medea’s tone throughout her speech is proper, confident, and angry.
In Euripides’ Medea women are treated better than they are in other Greek stories. Women in mythology are commonly portrayed as devious, manipulative, deceitful, and
Medea and the women of Corinth both share, to a different extent, the experience of being unfairly categorized as the caretaker of the family, which aids Medea in persuasion because she can be trusted as a woman to speak on the patriarchal society. She continues as ‘’of all creatures that have life and reason we women are the sorriest lot’’ (229-230) of all the living things Medea describes women as the ‘’sorriest’’ which suggests that women are pitied and helps Medea to allure the Chorus to be on her side. Medea suggests to the Chorus that Females ‘’must at a great expenditure of money buy a husband and even take on a master over our body: this evil is more galling than the first. ’’(231-233) Medea is arguing that women must sacrifice a ‘’great’’ amount of money to ‘’buy’’ their partners. This conveys the patriarchal community in Corinth.
The author Richards of "Review/Theater; Amid Pain and Din, A Mighty Medea," describes the male characters as arrogant, condescending and egotistical. During the play Medea, the males are characterized as only interested in what will give them power and they are not concerned with the feelings of the women or Medea in the play. “The male characters in "Medea" don 't come off well. But then they never have, and Alistair Elliot 's stripped-for-action translation of the play further emphasizes [Euripides] ' feminist sympathies. Either the men are smug and patronizing (like John Turner 's Creon) or else they 're smug and self-serving (like Mr. [Tim Oliver Woodward] 's Jason).
As the play begins, Medea has stopped eating and spends her days locked within her own house. She can be heard moaning and rambling from within her home. She even wishes she would die, saying things like, “I am miserable, unhappy in my labors! Oh me, I wish I were dead.” As we as, “I wish I could cast off this hateful life and take my rest in death!”
Paul Vu Dr. Elizabeth C. Ramírez THTR 475A.03 2 May 2017 Macbeth and Medea: Breaking Expectations Macbeth by William Shakespeare and Medea by Euripides are known for their powerful critiques on the social expectations of women. Women during the time of Elizabethan and Greek theatre were often stereotyped and considered the weaker sex. Men were depicted as strong individuals who supported and protected women. However, both Shakespeare and Euripides broke expectations by portraying strong and iconic female characters in their respective plays. The idea of a strong female character was often unheard of during the time of Elizabethan and Greek Theatre.
Euripides created a modern day woman who seeks justice and revenge with her cleverness and power. Medea acted as a feminine heroine who established that women can also be as strong as men. The feeling of being left by someone you love is truly painful hence, Medea expressed her emotions as much as she can and mourned for her lost. It is true that women can be sensitive and emotional so there was Medea portraying a usual woman in an unusual manner.
The play starts off by showing Medea suffering and crying upon her husband's betrayal and it presents an ordinary woman of the time. 'Oh I am wretched pity me for my sufferings! Oh, if only I could die'. Her anguish and anger was relatable by the audience because her sorrow and grief symbolises an average woman of her time who would have reacted in a similar way after a loss of her husband. However she transforms herself into an evil master mind and labels her husband and his new wife as her enemy.
At the point when underlining the circumstances women have to bear after marriage like leaving her family and country. Medea’s character illustrate the conditions that women can bear after marriage for the sake of their husband and kids. Also showing the audience the Greek’s non-acceptance to barbarians. Medea 's reactions to her children worries the Nurse and shows that the children are an important part tragedy. The focal center of the play could be portrayed around "the subject of the kids.
Medea was treated unfairly in the patriarchal society that she lived in and due to the circumstances she was forced to abide by, she sought to achieve her own form of justice. Women were mistreated and regarded as inferior to men. In fact, Medea mentioned how women were like foreigners forced to abide by their husband’s laws and remain subservient. Essentially, women were treated as outsiders and were thought to need constant protection from male figures. So, when the King of Corinth kicked her and her children out of Corinth and Jason left them, she wanted revenge since she felt she had been wronged.
She describes the world to be unjust, especially to women. Medea believes that women are looked as inferior to men, and even so, men are quick to display their unlikely maltreatment. To her, women have little to no say in their marriage, their bodies, and general society. Medea’s outlook of women is first conveyed through this quote, bringing upon the theme of the state of women within Greece. This quote reveals the state of women within Greece, a leading theme of the story.
The public breed men to be big, strong, and wealthy sometimes it makes them want it by any means. “ Hell hath no fury like that of a woman scorned”. Everyone refers to Medea as a hatred woman who left her home for a man that now despises her. When people are left alone in a marriage with kids, it 's normal for the women to pick up the pieces and move on with their kids. Some women like Medea, just can’t move on with their life.
Medea is a prominent play by Euripides that has endured centuries. Medea is perhaps of more significance today than ever before due to the increasing force of the feminist movement. Euripides’ stance on feminism is unclear as there is evidence that supports and neglects the text as proto-feminist; hence it is no wonder there are several different interpretations. One possibility is that the spectator or reader’s view of Medea—as feminist, sexist, or any variation of the aforementioned—reflects his or her own beliefs. An alternative interpretation of the text is that it reflects reality.