Literature Humanities 07-08

Medea as the Heroine of The Medea

According to the Oxford Dictionary, a heroine is a woman who is admired or idealized for her courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.

Medea's character, strangely enough, resonates with the definition of a heroine. She captures the attention of the chorus and soon the chorus rallies to her cause and defends her. "Jason, though you have made this speech of yours look well, still I think, even though others do not agree, you have betrayed your wife and are acting badly." (576-578). Her courage to be more than just a wife and mother stirs the chorus, who in turn proclaim that "it is the thoughts of men that are deceitful, their pledges that are loose. Story shall now turn my condition to a fair one, women are paid their due." (414-419). Medea's achievements are also outstanding in a sense-- she sacrifices her home and family for the survival of Jason. Later, she acts to help Jason regain his throne by killing Pelias. While her acts were despicable, they were for Jason, her love. She acted selflessly (and without proper sanity in my opinion).

Medea realizes her potential status as a heroine and figurehead to the chorus and others. Her words and descriptions of herself tend to be more masculine and less motherly-- "I would very much rather stand three times in front of battle than bear one child" (250-251). Also, from lines 475 to 486 she describes her actions in a way that previous heroes we have read about would describe their glory. Clearly if had been a man she would have been a great hero, concerned with kleos and glory. Even as a woman she strives to defy and denounce the life of a woman. Her insight on the lonely lives of women even creates a sympathy for Medea.

With everything in consideration--

1) Is Medea a heroine? Why or why not?

2) She depicts herself as one, but is she more of a wannabe than an actual hero?

3) Do you think Medea would rather be a hero or a heroine? Given the emphasis on gender in Medea, what differences in connotation exist between the two terms?

- Corinne

He's the crazy one, not she. (crazy no?)

So what I was wondering in class but we only briefly touched on is the comparison between the two types of marriages present in The Medea.  Medea's marriage to Jason which was either born of romantic love (which we know in ancient Greece is tantamount to shooting yourself in the foot) and Jason's marriage to Glauce which was to "not be short of anything" (560), so that he might "bring up [his] children worthily of [his] position." (562-563) and lastly so that Jason might "draw the families together and all be happy" (564-565).  Now at this point I think that Medea married Jason for love because there is just no other reason she would marry someone who thinks that he can convince his wife of something by insulting her.  I'm not so sure about ancient Greek or Colchic (not sure if used correctly) marriage customs, but I think it's safe to say that even if Jason feels absolutely no emotion for Glauce, pissing off a sorceress from far far away is generally a dumb idea.  So I guess where I'm going with this is I)    Why did Jason marry Medea if he lacks the foresight to realize what she is capable of (killing brothers, sons, and anyone else she has to for him)?  If it is not love then why?  If it is love, then why would he leave her?  (We all know his weak argument is a thin cover for his ulterior motives) II)    Why does Jason refer to everything about her that he deems "unwomanly" based on her barbarism (non-Greekness here, not referring to savagery)?

-Tyler