- 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

- 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

1. Royal women 

2. Regular women

3. Slave women

4. Foreign women 

Married women are higher.

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

- 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. 

- 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." 

 

- remove her womanly side; Lady Macbeth esque

- become rational in her irrationality 

Manipulates Creon, the Chorus, and Jason. 

- kill Creon, Glauce and her children. 

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. 

 

 

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.

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

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

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 

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".

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.

 

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.