# data[].attributes.body
Women and Femininity

How can Medea be seen as a symbol of feminine revolt?

- Goes against the expected norms of her time

- "but wrong a woman in love and nothing on earth has a heart more murderous"

- Does not accept her socially imposed position

What are the major complaints Medea raises about the treatment of women?

- No freedom to do what they truly want

- Once they find a man they are bound - whether they are good or not

- They "cannot refuse her husband"

- "of all creatures that have life and reason we women are the most miserable of specimens" - objectified

- Double standards

What hierarchy exists among the women in Medea?

1. Royal women

2. Regular women

3. Slave women

4. Foreign women

Married women are higher.

Is Medea still pertinent to the issues facing women today?

Yes, of course.

- General inequity
- Some issues, but have come a long way.

# data[].attributes.headline
  Does Medea confirm or refute Greek prejudices toward foreigners?                                   - Medea refutes the Greek Prejudice against foreigners. She is accepted into Greece with Jason after turning on her own family and leaving them in her home land. Medea settles in Corinth with Jason and begins a family with many of the towns people knowing of who she is and have accepted Medea into their daily lives. Creon, the ruler of the land grants Medea the privilege to settle and begin a family and become part of the Corinth society, which clearly proves against the Greek Prejudice against foreigners. 

# data[].attributes.subject
  Does Medea confirm or refute Greek prejudices toward foreigners?                                   - Medea refutes the Greek Prejudice against foreigners. She is accepted into Greece with Jason after turning on her own family and leaving them in her home land. Medea settles in Corinth with Jason and begins a family with many of the towns people knowing of who she is and have accepted Medea into their daily lives. Creon, the ruler of the land grants Medea the privilege to settle and begin a family and become part of the Corinth society, which clearly proves against the Greek Prejudice against foreigners. 

# data[].attributes.body
  In what ways is Medea prejudiced against Greeks? - Medea is prejudice against Greeks as she is from and outside land and came to Corinth as a foreigner. This goes against the ancient Greeks as Ancient Greeks had a deep suspicion of foreigners, thinking of them all as "barbarians." With Medea, Euripides seems to confront this prejudice by choosing to honours a foreigner with the role of tragic heroine and by making her the most intelligent character in the play. However, the playwright also confirms many Greek stereotypes of foreigners by making Medea wild, overly passionate, and vengeful.

# data[].attributes.body
Revenge:

Why does Medea think it's necessary to kill her sons to get revenge on Jason?

- To prevent mockery and children being taken advantage of

- In previous iterations of the myth the children are killed by others (for revenge for what Medea has done)

-  To destroy Jason; totally end his lineage.

How do you interpret the fact that Medea suffers no consequences for her revenge?

- She framed her personal vendetta as that of the Gods, allowing her to escape any 'divine' consequences for her actions. In other words, she may have masqueraded as the "vengeance of the gods" to exact her personal revenge.

She's part God, Flies away. Betters everyone. They have no power to control her.
She beat them at the Human and the God game.

- " The spirit of vengeance for your crimes has been sent by the gods to punish me"

To do so, she sacrifices her humanity. And as such, at the end of the play she is no longer a woman. She is a phenomenon - a shell of her former self. A "lioness."

What steps must Medea take to achieve her revenge?

- remove her womanly side; Lady Macbeth esque

- become rational in her irrationality

Manipulates Creon, the Chorus, and Jason.

- kill Creon, Glauce and her children.

What's the difference between revenge and justice?

Ordinarily, the justice of the Greek legal system would do so. However, she is a foreigner, and seen as 'less than Greek.' In man's eyes, her actions are unjust. But in the eyes of the Gods, who only care about crimes against themselves (i.e. breaking oath), then her actions are perfectly acceptable.

A just outcome causes more good than bad. Medea's act was revenge.

Justice = natural justice

Revenge = imperfect justice, mostly personal...

Is the justice of the Gods really justice? Or is it just revenge? The Gods are humanistic and flawed.

# data[].attributes.body
1. How were ancient Greek ideas of marriage different from modern concepts? How are they similar?

In ancient Greek, the man has all the power. Therefore it is considered common for men to divorce women to seek for a new partner. It is also commonly expected that women are powerless and are almost possessions to the- men, thus have no saying over actions of their husbands. Additionally, It was perfectly respectable for a Greek male to have more than one family.

Whereas, Modern marriages allow for individual preferences. The spouses are considered equal partners and the women have their share of power and control in decision-making for the family. Furthermore, In modern marriages most women no longer marry for economic reasons; they are better educated, pursue well-paying careers and are financially independent.

2. What overall view of marriage does the play seem to take?

The overall view of marriage of the play seems to be taken from the modern concept, as Medea explores the interest of women when men abandons them. It is through the eyes of Medea that ancient Greek citizens(all male) are able to first consider the stance of women under certain situations. Although Jason’s action may be commonly accepted in ancient Greek times, Euripides demonstrates his disapproval of such action by demonstration disapproval from characters such as Aegeus, ruler of Athens.

3. Was Jason's second marriage truly a betrayal? Why or why not?

Jason’s second marriage was truly a betrayal

Broken his marriage oath which was the primary reason for Medea’s revenge

Medea’s love of Jason stems from an oath made in the Argonautica, ‘in our lawful marriage-chamber you shall share my bed, and nothing will separate us in our love until the appointed death enshrouds us’

4. What power dynamic was present in ancient Greek marriages?

Perfectly respectable for a man to have more than one family

In traditional marriages the division of responsibilities was clearly designated by gender. The husband worked and was responsible for the family financially while the wife was solely responsible for taking care of the home: cooking, cleaning and raising the children.

Patriarchal society

“Medea: I had rather stand my ground three times among the shields, than face a childbirth once.”

Here she says she'd rather do battle than give birth. This is a rejection of the foundation of the traditional role of women.

# data[].attributes.headline
"  In what ways can Medea's manipulations be seen as betrayal?-----By acting weak and like the 'weak' and 'perverse creature' that she is supposedly meant to be, many are fooled to show undeserved mercy (the true weakness?) which overall opens opportunity for Medea to execute her plan. Medea seems to be 'sane' again in parts of the play, but we know it is just a façade. She betrays Creon by manipulating him to give her another day, but she promises to leave straight away from then. But she uses that extra day to execute her plan and exact her revenge."  Does Jason's betrayal justify Medea's revenge?It gives a reason for her to be angry and act upon it, there is motive. But it does not justify her actions, especially killing her children."  Is Jason's second marriage really a betrayal at all? Why or why not?"  Could Medea's murder of her children be interpreted as a betrayal?Most certainly, her children are also Jason's too, whether he denies it or not. To kill and destroy something that belongs to another without remorse and without the other's prior knowledge is betrayal.

# data[].attributes.subject
"  In what ways can Medea's manipulations be seen as betrayal?-----By acting weak and like the 'weak' and 'perverse creature' that she is supposedly meant to be, many are fooled to show undeserved mercy (the true weakness?) which overall opens opportunity for Medea to execute her plan. Medea seems to be 'sane' again in parts of the play, but we know it is just a façade. She betrays Creon by manipulating him to give her another day, but she promises to leave straight away from then. But she uses that extra day to execute her plan and exact her revenge."  Does Jason's betrayal justify Medea's revenge?It gives a reason for her to be angry and act upon it, there is motive. But it does not justify her actions, especially killing her children."  Is Jason's second marriage really a betrayal at all? Why or why not?"  Could Medea's murder of her children be interpreted as a betrayal?Most certainly, her children are also Jason's too, whether he denies it or not. To kill and destroy something that belongs to another without remorse and without the other's prior knowledge is betrayal.

# data[].attributes.headline
does Jasons betrayal justify Medeas revenge?

# data[].attributes.subject
does Jasons betrayal justify Medeas revenge?

# data[].attributes.body
No, although Jason abandoned Medea for Glauce, the murder of her children is not justifiable, as the Children were seen as a way of revenge, for Medea to get back at Jason, the children were victims, and had no part in the ill faith of Jason. Thus, Jason's betrayal does not justify the means of revenge that Medea commits, yet ultimately is effective in the attempt of breaking Jason.

# data[].attributes.body
What tactics does Medea use to manipulate those around her?
-Putting on an act
-Murder
-Intelligence

How does Medea’s intelligence make her dangerous?
-She has a vast knowledge in the various deadly poisons.
-convincing the King of Athens into an oath with her.
-Formulating plans to thwart those that have wronged her.
-Allows her to assess the situation clearly identifying her enemies.

In what ways does Medea’s superior intelligence ostracize her?
-Superior intelligence separates her from society, she realises that the treatment of men is far superior to that of women and differs her from others who see it as a part of their nature to stand alone against the dehumanisation, ostracising her.

How does Medea put her cunning to use in the play?
-She plays an act in front of Jason which made him see her as not a hazard to him and the royal family.
-She puts on act if helplessness in front of Creon in an attempt to earn his sympathy
-The chorus are made to think that Medea is a victim to Jason’s actions

# data[].attributes.headline
  In what ways does Medea bring her banishment on herself?Medea’s inability ti accept Jason’s action, her idle threats and her history of betrayal to family members (in Jason and the Golden Fleece), which makes Creon “have a terrible misgiving that in your heart you are hatching some evil plan”-58  Is it wrong of Creon to banish Medea? Why or why not?Creon believes that by Banishing Medea that he will be protecting his family and his house from a women who has a history of deviousness, therefore it is logical for him to use his standing as king of corinth to banish her. However it this doesn’t mean it is moral, as Medea hasn’t wronged anyone and is at this point, innocent   How does Medea's exile from her homeland heighten the stakes surrounding her banishmentMedea’s exile from her homeland re enforces the sacrifice she made to help Jason, which makes his betrayal more devious, as she left her home to help him and cannot return, and by his abandonment for her she will have no where to turn

# data[].attributes.subject
  In what ways does Medea bring her banishment on herself?Medea’s inability ti accept Jason’s action, her idle threats and her history of betrayal to family members (in Jason and the Golden Fleece), which makes Creon “have a terrible misgiving that in your heart you are hatching some evil plan”-58  Is it wrong of Creon to banish Medea? Why or why not?Creon believes that by Banishing Medea that he will be protecting his family and his house from a women who has a history of deviousness, therefore it is logical for him to use his standing as king of corinth to banish her. However it this doesn’t mean it is moral, as Medea hasn’t wronged anyone and is at this point, innocent   How does Medea's exile from her homeland heighten the stakes surrounding her banishmentMedea’s exile from her homeland re enforces the sacrifice she made to help Jason, which makes his betrayal more devious, as she left her home to help him and cannot return, and by his abandonment for her she will have no where to turn

# data[].attributes.headline
How do Medea's foreign origins affect her social status?

# data[].attributes.subject
How do Medea's foreign origins affect her social status?

# data[].attributes.body
She is not regarded as important to the Corinthians as a Greek woman. This means that she is overlooked and this is important because no one can persuade her against what she wants to do as she is a foreigner with different morals and makes her own decisions.

She is not a woman true to type because she takes matters into her own hands and interprets the Greek morals in the way of a man. Others view her as an outsider and Medea can see that she isn't thought of well, especially when she becomes a "sick murderess".

# data[].attributes.headline
This was cunninger and cleverer than mine

# data[].attributes.subject
This was cunninger and cleverer than mine

# data[].attributes.body
How does romantic love affect the action of the play?
-Love is the cause of betrayal and vengeance
-Love is a boundary which prevents Medea from murdering her children easily.

Do you think Jason ever loved Medea? Why or why not?
-

What overall view of love does the play seem to take?
-Love is dangerous and volatile. -Jason’s lack of love for Medea causes her to grow vengeance.

In what ways does each character express paternal or maternal love?
-Paternal love is only shown under the loss of offspring, this suggests paternal love is rather not potent, Maternal love from Medea is shown through her self-arguments, however she eventually became able to ignore the link and kill her children.

# data[].attributes.headline
Could Medea's murder of her children be interpreted as a betrayal?

# data[].attributes.subject
Could Medea's murder of her children be interpreted as a betrayal?

# data[].attributes.body
Yes, as Medea's children trust her to look after them and ultimately, Medea kills them. This is the most shocking and disturbing betrayal of the whole play.

# data[].attributes.headline
How do Medea’s foreign origins affect her social status?

# data[].attributes.subject
How do Medea’s foreign origins affect her social status?

# data[].attributes.body
Regardless of her Turkish background, Medea is viewed as a ‘demi-God’ in the eyes of the Greek community and hence, her social status in newly acquainted land does not tarnish her social status. If she wasn’t in the position she was in however (granddaughter of a god), there would be potential for a negative affect on her social status due to her foreign background, and may face discrimination etc. This is evidenced as the chorus and nurse is always choosing her side (ie: with seeking out justice upon Jason) and only oppose her  when Medea chooses to kill her own children.

# data[].attributes.body
No, because she sacrificed her own children's lives so that Jason can feel guilty. Medea does not have a sense of motherhood.