How Is Medea's Response To A Hostile Society

Medea portrays the consequence of a rebellious being’s response to a hostile society through vengeance, passion, and deceitfulness. It also gives the reader a unique perspective on the roles of women that were considered taboo, and still are, at least in the western culture. At the beginning of her relationship with Jason, Medea was strengthen by love to do the unimaginable. Her clever and crafty style were her frequent methods of overcoming obstacles and getting what she wanted. She tricked the daughters of Pelias to boil him alive when he refused to give Jason the throne. She fooled King Creon and killed him and his daughter after begging to stay one more day. She was blinded by love and failed to see the reality of what the relationship would bring. Medea was devastated by the betrayal of Jason and her natural response

Female characters in Greek tragedies often challenged the authority of the king and rebelled against society for honorable purposes, but not Medea. Unlike Antigone who disobeyed Creon to honor the gods by burying her brother, Medea’s intent was to eliminate all of her enemies through a clever and evil plan. “He could have thrown me out, destroyed my plans;/ instead he’s granted me a single day/ to turn three enemies to three dead bodies:” (380-383). The surprising part about Medea is her complete comprehension of her situation. She was fully aware of her “wisdom” and malice and still decides to continue with her scheme anyway. It’s too bad her cleverness and understanding is overshadowed by evil and vengeance. Puchner describes her as, “…fierce, ‘like a lion,’ and highly articulate in her analysis of her situation” (785). Medea could have sought another way to deal with Jason and handled the whole situation differently. She might have been clever, but lacked virtues and morals that no culture would consider acceptable or wise. Being part of a male