In Medea Euripides elucidates that greed and egoism are the greatest factors leading to destruction and unhappiness; blind self-interest is detrimental and lays the foundation for tragedy to occur. Euripides’ exploration of this idea begins with the character of Jason and the blatant narcissism of his words when confronting Medea about the scathing rage she feels towards him. After asserting that Medea should be grateful to him because when he brought her to Creon she received recognition from the Greeks for her cleverness, Jason goes on to rationalize this claim by considering her situation from his perspective.
JASON. For my part, […] I’d choose the fate that made me a distinguished man. (page 18)
In this situation, Euripides is indirectly characterizing Jason as egotistical because of the phrase “for my part” which indicates Jason looks upon Medea’s supposed plight without regards to her own emotions, but rather through consideration of how he would act, and did act when faced with a similar decision. Instead of remaining with Medea, he chose to succumb to the temptations of power and royalty and marry the princess of Creon: he is not bothered by the misfortunes his former wife and children face so long as he inherits his crown. And in choosing this path, guided by his egoism, he awakens Medea’s fervent rage which ultimately causes his
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In the character of Medea, Euripides paints a picture of a woman whose heartache, instead of ennobling her, morphs her into a monster seeking revenge with great élan. Her savage pride makes her unwilling to allow her enemies any kind of victory and engenders great selfishness in the process. Such motives of self-interest are revealed through a series of rhetorical questions she ponders while second guessing her decision to ends her children’s