Medea The Proto-Feminist Essay

Medea: The Proto-feminist

Medea and her struggles and actions within the play represent a rudimentary precursor to first wave feminism. Euripides creates Medea as an empowered woman strong in her convictions on divorce and the complete misogyny of her time period; but yet also strong in practice, considering herself a woman first and taking action when wronged by Jason. Medea also greatly effects first-wave feminism in this way being a representation of their ideals to the extreme.

Despite being portrayed as a women in Greece, Medea displayed strong feminist practices. She didn’t define herself by her place deemed by men and she toke action when wronged by Jason. Medea saw herself as a woman, being from a primitive background Medea has already

She speaks on misogyny in her time period and how divorce affect women. Misogyny was prevalent at the time Euripides’ Medea was first dramatized, and yet it questioned the norms and beliefs of Greek society and critiques specifically on marriage and the idea of an only male heroic character. “First, we need a husband, someone we get for an excessive price. He then becomes the ruler of our bodies. And this misfortune adds still more troubles to the grief we have.” (Euripides, 231-35). Medea explicitly states her grievance for all the women in marriage and the sexist idea that the life of a women depends solely on a man. Medea is challenging that notion being a woman of no man anymore. In her being the protagonist in the story also challenges traditional view of a woman. If women where defined only by their relations with man than how could a woman be anything else but a wife, a mother or a harlot: but Medea is not any of those things. Euripides actually paints the portrait of Medea as a submissive house wife showing great anguish and emotion forcing the primarily male audience to pity her. (Messing, 7). Yet later on she is seen deceiving Creon and calling upon Hecate to enact