Due to her crimes, Medea is perceived as a "sorceress". However, after reading Medea, readers may not be able to find the qualities that could allow Medea to be described as a magical entity. Medea's behavior as a psychopath could be mistaken as that of a "sorceress". She has no connection to her children, showing no signs of maternal love towards them: "she hates her children, takes no pleasure in seeing them" (35). The only connection Medea makes is with Jason. She is fixated on him to a point past obsession, which leads to her motives behind her conniving revenge. Her psychotic behavior is previously evidenced by a major aspect of Medea's background: she kills her own "brother in cold blood" (166). Medea has no respect for human life, declaring herself free from the burden of living a life of morality. Yet, the obdurate crimes she commits afterwards come as a surprise to many. The general perception of Medea's story may be a masculine reaction to Euripedes's rally for gender equality. Mysoginists seem to be stereotyping the passion of a woman and the murderous behavior of a psychopath as the actions of a godless witch, instead of realizing that the stress they put upon women within patriarchies may be the cause of such erratics. Euripedes's message in Medea may be similar to that of Walt Whitman in his poem "The Sleepers": "I hate him that oppresses me, I will either destroy him, or he shall release me". Whitman seems to be following Euripedes's crusade by showing that oppressors must either practice equality or be crushed under the numerous, penetrating heels of the oppressed, crazed with a thirst for revenge.
I agree with you: Jason is the reason Medea is so thirsty for revenge. Yet both Jason and Whitman's oppressors will always deny that they had anything to do with the struggles of the oppressed. Medea even says "The Gods know who began this work of woe" (44) so Jason knows that the Gods are aware who started this path of revenge. He can't hide from those who are omniscient.
ReplyDeleteYou're so right how the "heels of the oppressed" are "penetrating" and "numerous"! Medea not only demands justice for herself, but she is also trying to arouse communal anger from all women. "We women are the worst treated things alive" (31) is just one of the many examples of how she invokes others to join the crusade for equality.
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