The power of sincere and hypocritical words on the characters of «Medea» played by Eurupidies

The power of sincere and hypocritical words on the characters of «Medea» played by Eurupidies.

Medea  is an ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides, based upon the myth of Jason and Medea and first produced in 431 BC.  Euripides begins the tragedy by telling the nurse about the past of Medea and Jason, the purpose of which is to remind the viewer the main content of the myth about the heroic swimming of argonauts behind the golden rune. This reminder is arranged in a special way: the sudden love between the leader of the argonauts Jason and the daughter of the runaway king of the Medea columns, the grave crimes of Medea against her relatives in the name of love, the escape to Corinth, the conquest of the citizens, Jason’s treachery, Medea’s sorrowful regrets about an abandoned house, and her growing hatred for children. Ancient Greek mythology is not replete with descriptions of the actions of women heroes. However, when they did show up and become close to men, their relationship was never long and happy. So Euripides emphasizes that Jason has abandoned Medea, turning the destruction of their relationship into the starting point of the tragedy. The heroine of the tragedy is not ready to put up with fate and therefore begins to fight for justice and self-respect. By her act (killing children out of jealousy for her husband), Medea proves the power of a woman and points to her lack of femininity, which should be expressed in humility, meekness, faith, hope and love. In this regard, the image of Medea is a symbol of evil and the dark sides of the female essence.

The essence of the ancient Medea can be characterized by the word «passion». Her passion is directed outward: the heroine acts as an extrovert, expressing her thoughts freely to the outside world. It is no coincidence that her image is revealed in expressive lyrical monologues, saturated with psychology and rhetorical techniques, as well as in statements about her by other characters in the play. Before us there is a person struggling with external forces (fate, will of gods, society), as well as experiencing the inner struggle of good and evil, passion and duty, love and hatred. Medea is put in a situation of confrontation and is forced to make a difficult and important choice that will affect the actions and fate of all around. She is both a female-victim and a female-avenger. Upon learning of her husband’s infidelity, the heroine finds no excuse for his actions, and she is driven almost insane, she says «…my hopes dashed by a traitor». At first sight, her mind seems to be as consumed by hatred, revenge and anger as her heart, but in reality, in all her actions, there is logic and cold estimation. So the phrase: «and I left...» has a symbolic meaning and can be considered as moving from the private sphere of the house to the public environment. That is why, Medea’s speech in the house is more expressive and emotional, as it is in this environment that she is possessed by feelings. However, once she’s out of the privacy zone with herself, her mind and estimate take over again, especially when talking to Creon and Jason. That is why it can be argued that the decision to murder the bride of an adulterous husband and her children is not the result of a storm of emotions. It is no coincidence that Medea became one of the first characters of the classic tragedy, where the main role in the heroine’s image is given to her psychological portrait, which is revealed through the heroine’s lyrical monologues. Euripides uses this technique in the culminating scene of the tragedy - the preparation for the murder of children, accompanied by the heroine’s internal anguish, as well as in the crime itself.

Looking at the image of Medea in separate scenes, one can see that, for the first time, in the act of tragedy, the heroine appears after the passage of the choir. In the prologue of the nurse’s words about the infidelity of Medea’s husband «…for Jason, leaving his own children and my mistress, is lying on a royal wedding bed» denote the main problem of the tragedy: the family «broke up», the heroine’s grief is great, so she «does not want to stop screaming». That is why, her relationship with Jason is one of the most important acting forces in the tragedy, because they are the cause of all the fatal and terrible acts of Medea. The character deepens in later scenes. Creon, the father of Jason’s new bride and King Corinth, meets with Medea and demands that she leaves his city because she feels her passionate and unpredictable nature. Here the hero acts as the keeper of order and peace for his people. He’s trying to protect his city from the dangerous behavior of a deceived and emotionally loyal Medea. It is no coincidence that King Corinth calls her abilities evil. He associates these potentially evil talents with Medea’s mind. Intelligence is a valuable attribute and contributes to the betterment of society, but only in the minds of men. Therefore, if a woman possesses him, it can be harmful to society. The heroine is aware of this, so she replies to Creon: «…if you offer fools some brand new wisdom, they'll consider you quite useless, not someone wise…».