Medea Character Analysis
3) Offer an analysis of the character of Medea. What motivates her and why? How are we to understand the final moments of the play when she "gets away with" such unimaginable crimes?
Medea is the princess of Colchis and somewhat of a wife to Jason. Medea can be explained in four words, that define her personality and will, barbarian, sorceress, woman of passion and rage. Clever, powerful, and ruthless, Medea has enabled Jason to complete his quest for the Golden Fleece. For his sake, she murdered her own brother; because of this act, she can never return home. Now, in Corinth, she has been betrayed by Jason, and she refuses to suffer in silence. She is fiercely proud, unwilling to allow ...
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Medea and her younger brother, with him. King Aeetes pursued them. In order to delay the pursuit, Medea killed her brother and cut his body into pieces, scattering the parts behind the ship. The king and the men chasing them had to stop and collect Absyrtis’ dismembered body in order to give it proper burial, and so Jason, Medea and the Argo escaped.
After the Argo returned safely to Iolcus, Jason’s home, Medea continued using sorcery. She restored the youth of Jason’s aged father, Aeson, by cutting his throat and filling his body with a magical potion. She then offered to do the same for Pelias the king of Iolcus who had assumed to take Aeson’s throne. She tricked Pelias’ daughters into killing him, but left the corpse without any youth-restoring potion.
After the murder of Pelias, Jason and Medea had to flee Iolcus; they settled next in Corinth. There Medea had Jasons two children before Jason abandoned her in order to marry the daughter of Creon, the king of ...
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a force of destruction in Euripides's plays. Frequently his characters' passion is the cause of their downfall. Medea happens to be one of the worst cases of crazy passionate characters that seem to be left alone in the end.
Such a righteous and outgoing character, there has to be some repercussions for her crimes, her deceit and betrayal, right? On the contrary, Medea is so clever and conniving that murdering her brother and children did not have any effect later on any of the punishment she should have received. Another theme is Medea's cleverness. Medea tells Creon that it is better to be born stupid, for men despise the clever. Part of her difficulty is that she has no real ...
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"Medea Character Analysis." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 14 May. 2011. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Medea-Character-Analysis/99153>
"Medea Character Analysis." Essayworld.com. May 14, 2011. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Medea-Character-Analysis/99153.
"Medea Character Analysis." Essayworld.com. May 14, 2011. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Medea-Character-Analysis/99153.
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