Medea as a Powerful Woman

Sometimes, in life, we do not know what we are capable of until the moment comes. Hiding emotions could be crucial. We live in a society where males and females could do the same act, and the male always comes to the top because he has more dominance. The society we live nowadays tolerates more when a man leaves their spouse for someone else than vice versa. While a woman needs to swallow their pride and keep on going to normalize the situation because of their children. In Euripides’ Medea, a woman who through all her strength and power, feel betrayed and used. A woman who left everything behind because of who she considered the love of her life.

The classical play Euripides’ Medea opens with Jason who is Medea’s husband divorcing her, to marry other women, the princess of Corinth, and start a new family. Jason’s purpose to marry the princess is because he will benefit from her social position in the city. At the beginning of the play, Medea initiated her hopeless thoughts because of the infidelity of her husband. Medea feels deceived by her husband after everything she did for him, she did it for love. Before Jason and Medea arrived at the city of Corinth with their sons, Jason gained fame in his city of obtaining the Golden Fleece with the help of his wife Medea and her powers. She kills her brother to help him, she is the granddaughter of a god, Helios, the Sun. Feeling divulged so easily. Medea’s idea is to get back to her husband due to what he has done to her, it is unethical. “Poor Medea feels cruelly dishonored…she keeps calling on the gods to witness what kind of thanks she gets from Jason. She stays in bed and won’t eat; she hurts all over” (Euripides 441). Medea is devastated, she doesn’t know how to handle the situation or what her plans are going to be now.

A woman that left everything behind to be with her beloved husband now feels like her happiness is gone forever. Medea’s husband Jason allowed Creon, King of Corinth exile her and their children out of the city. Starting from day one, Medea was considered as other, an stranger from a foreign city, mistrust in the eyes of the Greeks. “This disaster has made her learn how hard it is to be cut off from home. She hates her sons [says the Nurse] she gets no joy from seeing them. I am afraid that she’s planning something” (Euripides 442). She begged the King, so he can hive her one more day in Corinth while she works out her plans into exile, not because of her, but because of her sons. Medea went from suicidal thoughts to homicidal actions; she is filled with anger. “She won’t stop raging until she crushes someone- better her enemies than people she loves” (Euripides 443).

Medea hides her intentions and emotions; she has in mind to take actions into her own hands. She now has the impulse to betray those who betrayed her, the need that she has is bigger than the love she once felt for Jason. “I’d gladly watch him, and his new bride being smashed to pieces with their whole house for the huge wrong they have done to me. My father! My city! -shamefully lost when I killed my brother” (Euripides 445). She killed her brother Aspyrtus into pieces, then she proceeded to throw his body parts behind her. Medea’s flaws are her emotions, she has everything calculated of how her plans are going to advance and start with the royal family of Corinth, her malevolence thoughts will guide her with her plan. For her to have control over the situation and make Jason suffering go further, Medea poisoned the princess of Corinth, Glauce. She sent her what she considered a gift, a poisoned crown with her two sons to the rich house. “Please do not rush through your report. How exactly did they die? You will make me twice as happy if they died horribly” (Euripides 466).

The first two victims are gone, all she wanted to do was to leave Jason with absolutely nothing left. Medea then progressed to kill her sons, she mentioned that she did not want to leave them with someone that loves them less than she did. It was only right if the person that once gave them life, takes it away as well. Medea at this point had no weakening for the boys, no remorse at all, by what she was in the attempt to do. The disloyalty she had from Jason, lead her to commit what she never thought was going to happen, ending up killing her two sons, not because of love, but because of revenge to her husband. Jason did not have anything to look forward to, the citizens of Corinth hated him. Jason was left with nothing, no family, no home, and neither of the children they created, a broad misery. Medea questioned her actions after killing her children, but did not regret afterward, she felt no compassion for them. It seems as from the first instance that Jason divorced her, she knew that their kids were going to be what Jason will be hurt the most if something were ever to happen to them.

In conclusion, females are powerful in all aspects. Society tends to restring women in taking actions and to have a decision of their own. Medea never experienced being in love, and she did the impossible to protect what was considered hers. Most women during that era would not have done all Medea did for Jason, but she was not an average woman, she was powerful, Medea had something within her that would differentiate her from any Greek women. Medea demonstrated that women are not inferior to men and the role women play in society.

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