Medea Flashcards
What is Jason’s harmatia?
Desire for social prestige and materialism causes him to abandon Medea for Glauce resulting in destruction of both his oikoi
What is Medea’s harmatia?
Homeric sense of honour drives her to kill her own children to get revenge on Jason. This results in her living in misery
How is Jason hubristic?
Transgressive in violating marriage laws that are sworn to the God
Excessive desire for materialism and the power and prestige associated with it
How is Medea hubristic ?
Excessive rage and desire for revenge
Excessive regard for personal honour like a Homeric hero
(Doesn’t want to be laughed at)
Infanticide and the extent of killings
What is the peripeteia in Medea?
Medea arranges for her children to give the gifts to Glauce which ensures her death, Creon’s death and that the Corinthians will try to kill her children so she’ll have to kill them.
What is the anagnorisis in Medea?
Medea recognises that infanticide will destroy her happiness but admits she is powerless to stop herself killing her children as she is so driven by anger
“Parted from you, my life will be all pain and anguish”
“I understand of what I am going to do but anger… masters my resolve”
What is the Agon in Medea?
Medea and Jason engage in an agon in episode 2
Medea claims that she is responsible for Jason’s heroic reputation
She did everything a wife should
What he did was transgressive (break vows to gods) and he is a coward
Jason argues that Medea was motivated by love so is not responsible for his achievements. He says they will benefit from his marriage to Glauce and will be provided for
What does the messenger report in Medea?
The delivery of Medea’s gifts and the grotesque deaths of Glauce and Creon
What is Jason (other than a dickhead)?
Sophist
Teacher of the art of persuasion
What is the background myth (roughly) to Medea?
Jason is sent on a mission to Colchis to fetch the Golden Fleece
Medea betrays her country as she is madly in love with Jason.
She helps him get the fleece by helping him plough a field with fire breathing bulls and subdue a dragon guarding it
She then (to get away) dismembered her brother and threw him off a boat
They go to Iolchos where she arranges the death of Pelias by getting his daughters to kill him to get eternal life
They flee to Corinth
Jason then leaves Medea and two kids to marry Glauke
Who is Medea related to and how does he impact the story
The sun
Gifts are from the sun
Chorus pray that the sun will stop Medea from killing her children
Sun provides Medea dragons to escape on at the end
What happens in the prologue ? How is Medea described ?
Nurse and tutor worry about Medea
They describe her as a “frightening woman” with “eyes like bulls”
They don’t tell Medea CReon want to banish her
What happens in the parados/1st stasimon?
Chorus of 12/15 women shaped by the patriachy try to get Medea to come out the oikos
How are the chorus first portrayed as submissive to patriarchal values ?
They try to get Medea to embrace patriarchal femininity to feel better
They are shaped by patriarchal values
“The thing is common, why let it anger you?”
How does the nurse describe Medea ?
“Eyes like wild bulls”
“Mind of a queen is a thing to fear”
How does Medea come out of the oikos in episode 1?
Medea comes out “cool and self possessed”
This is possessed by the excessive need to punish Jason which leads to her infanticide
How does Medea dominate the chorus in episode 1?
Gets sympathy from the chorus by saying how heartbroken she was
Says “we women are the most wretched”
Relates their situation to hers to manipulate them to helping her
Describes how they can’t divorce or physically repel men, can’t be sexually unfaithful.
“I’d rather stand 3 times on the front line than bear one child”
Gets more sympathy- lies about being taken from her own land
Then makes the request for them to not say anything
They agree - to punish Jason will be just
What do the chorus think Medea will do coming out of the oikos? What does she actually do? (Episode 1)
Chorus - think she willl come out and she will be comforted by embracing the patriachy
She does the antithesis of this
Dominates them and defies the patriachy
What is the significance of the quote “I’d rather strand three times in the front line than bare one child”
The thing that gets men the most prestige is nothing compared to the perceived “comfort” of women’s life
Already critical of prestige in men. Highlights desire for her own and that she is set back because she is a woman
What 3 things does Medea do to manipulate CReon?
Says being clever is a curse and stresses the fact she is a woman displaying her feminine vulnerability
She then conforms to a sobbing female stereotype to appeal to CReon
She appeals to him as a father and asks for one more day to sort out her sons
What does CReon first say to Medea ?
Wants her out because he is scared she will harm his daughter
What does CReon say when he gives Medea one day?
What does this show about his character.
“My soft heart has often betrayed me”
Shows he is a good man
How does Medea demonstrate her excessive desire for prestige?
She does not want her enemies to laugh at her
This is common throughout the play and drives her to continue.
“I die and the last laugh goes to my enemies”
What does Medea reveal to the Chorus after CReon gives her one day?
That she was only doin that to further her goals
She then reveals her excessive plan to kill by poison and to hopefully find sanctuary
If she doesn’t she’ll kill anyway because
“No one of them shall hurt me and not suffer for it” - Desire for revenge/uphold prestige
What do the chorus sing of in the first stasimon?
Sing of people only thinking women are evil because men write all the books / poems
Men are equally to blame for wrongdoings in the world
-defies patriachy. Reversal of what they were before Medea’a manipulation
What takes place in episode two?
1 word
Agon
Medea and Jason
What is Jason (aside from a dickhead)?
A sophist
- teacher of the art of persuasion
What 6 things does Jason argue for in his agon with Medea?
1 love (Aphrodite) prompted Medea to act so she cannot claim his heroism
2 she is angry because of sexual envy
3 she caused her own problems
4 she is now in Greece so should be grateful
5 he wants a big materialistic prosperous family she can benefit from
6 will provide her with financial support
What does medea say to Jason during her agon? (4)
1 claims credit for his heroism
2 Jason transgressed marriage oaths
3 she did everything a women (gave sons) and man should do
4 he knows he did something wrong as he got married behind her back
How does Medea subvert gender norms in her agon with Jason?
Claims credit for his heroism
-women can’t be heroic
Jason’s argument was basically …
A sophisticated material-driven argument underlined with blatant misogyny.
How was Jason misogynistic in his agon with Medea?
Women are sexually insatiable
“If only women didn’t exist, human life would be rid of all its miseries@
What do the chorus sing of in the second stasimon?
Pity for Medea
Sing of joys of fidelity, gentle love is preferable
What happens in episode 3?
Aegeus king of Athens enters
Aegeus got a prophecy as to why he has not had children
He is told “not to unstop the wineskin’s neck”
He is unaware of the meaning of this is. Medea is aware of this
She intellectually dominates him.
Says Jason left her for love to get pity
She makes him take an oath that he will give her sanctuary in exchange for drugs for fertility.
He is unaware of what she is going to do.
What does the third stasimon depict?
Chorus sing in praise of Athens
Medea will pollute herself and Athens if she goes
They say she won’t be able to kill her children
How does Medea manipulate herself ?
She gives the gifts for Glauke to the children so they will be doomed to die as the people of Corinth will want to kill them
She forces herself to commit infanticide
What happens in episode 4?
Jason enters
Medea appeals to his stereotypical view of women. Says she is foolish.
Ironic as Jason is foolish
Medea brings children out and cries as she will have to kill them. “Forgive me, I recalled what pain the future hides from us”
Jason thinks she is crying because she is just a woman
Medea asks that the children stay with Jason.
Says Glauke can make it happen “if she is like other women”
- outlines women dominate men as she is doing with Jason!
She gives the children the gifts. Jason calls her foolish for doing so
What happens in the 4th Stasimon?
Chorus express sympathy for Glauke, Medea and Jason
What happens in episode 5?
Children return from the palace and Medea resolves to kill them
She cries as she “will never see your brides”
This is because she will kill them
Children think it is because they will not live with her
Medea doubts her plan and says she can’t do it.
She then composes herself and says “are my enemies to laugh at me?”
-Homeric sense of personal prestige !!!
First thing she said to compose herself highlighting its importance !!!
What happens in the 5th stasimon?
Chorus lament fate of mothers
Chorus, previously dominated by patriarchal values sing of the joys of. being childless.
Children bring incessant worry and can die at any time. They may also be worthless
They express feminine solidarity with Medea compared to previous patriarchal acceptance
What happens in episode 6?
Messenger brings news of Glauke and Creon’s deaths
Medea’s plan comes together “your news is excellent”
Medea effectively exploits the patriarchy !!!
Jason dominates Glauke into taking the gifts. Glauke as a young woman could not resist the dress.
Medea knew this and exploits the patriarchy to meet her own agenda.
The description of her death is gruesome. She puts on a corrosive fresh “eating her clear flesh”
“Save to her father, she was unrecognisable”
Medea is also aware of Creon’s love for his daughter.
This caused him to take his daughter in his arms and stick to her dying as well
What happens in the sixth stasimon?
Chorus beg sun to stop Medea killing her children
They question whether to stop her
They morn for Medea as they hear her killing her children from the oikos / skene
They talk of Ino killing her children and then jumped off a cliff
What happens in the exodus
Ex Machina ending !!!
Jason thinks he is in control and goes to punish Medea and collect his sons
Chorus tell him sons are dead
Jason resolves to kill Medea
Medea destroys Jason’s materialistic goals and hopes of prosperous oikos
Medea appears above roof on a chariot drawn by dragons (Deus Ex Machina)
A visual representation of her intellectual dominance !!
Medea’s physical dominance parallels her intellectual dominance
Jason calls her Scylla
Medea says he was mistaken if he thought he could laugh at her
Jason asks for his sons. Medea denies this request saying she will make a religious festival in their name
(Typical female role)
Jason and Medea insult each other in stichomythia
Medea goes off in her chariot
