Medea (entry #1)
The play begins
with a nurse, who we soon find out is Medea’s old nurse, walk outside of the house
she is employed at and begins to open up the background of the play to the
audience. In this brief background the nurse explains that she wishes that
Jason and his ships had never come to them by saying, “How I wish the Argo's
sails had never swept through the dark blue Clashing Rocks into the land of the
Colchians” (1-2). She says that if Jason had never come to them then her
mistress, which is Medea, would have never gone off with Jason and fallen in
love with him. It is explained later on that Jason and Medea worked together to
accomplish many feats, for example Jason with the help of Medea was able to acquire
the Golden Fleece and Medea tricked the daughters of a rival king named Pelias
to kill him with poison. Then the nurse says that Medea and Jason started a
family together and had two sons. Soon after it is said that Medea and Jason had
two sons, the nurse explains, “Jason has cast aside his children and my
mistress, and now goes to bed in a royal marriage with the daughter of Creon
who governs this land” (16-18). My first question has to be why do you think
that Jason was so quick to abandon his family? Especially after Medea had help
Jason throughout his adventures and has now given him two sons? The story the
nurse is telling quickly becomes a bitter and angry one, in that it started out
with Medea falling in love with Jason and having a family with him to now
according to the nurse Medea cannot even stand the sight of her own children. “And
she hates her children, takes no pleasure in seeing them” (35). Soon after the
nurses soliloquy she is met by Pedagogue who enters with the two sons of Jason
and Medea. These two characters converse and the nurse tells Pedagogue that she
worries about Medea and her mental state. Soon after a cry out from Medea is
heard in which she says that she “hates her life” and wonders how she can end
it. My next question is why had Medea now so quickly turned on her own
children? Taking Jason out of the picture the children have done no wrong to
Medea and in my opinion do not deserve any of this, what are your thoughts on
that thought? The conversation then evolves into one between the nurse, Medea
and the chorus; in which Medea more or less rants about how she hates her
family and her life. After hearing the conversation the nurse wonders nervously
whether or not Medea will act upon these emotions. I hope that she will leave
the children alone, however Jason may deserve whatever Medea’s wrath can
conjure up. What do you think?
Medea (entry #2)
ReplyDeleteWell in answer to your question about why Jason was so quick to abandon Medea, I think that Jason saw an opportunity for fame and royalty with the daughter of Creon, and could someday possibly gain power or wealth by marrying her. If not that then just favor with the king, which could not hurt him. I think that Medea hates her kids because they are a constant reminder of Jason, the man she loves and had a family with, and how he walked out on her and everything she cared about. You are right that Medea does not deserve this, but I think she will get back at him. After reading section two, we know that she is going to try to kill Jason and his new wife, we just do not know how, or if she will even make it out alive. When Medea is first speaking to the chorus she says, “The man who was everything to me, try to understand this, has turned out to be the vilest man alive, my own husband” (227-228). Why do you think she tells this to the chorus? And why do you think that right after that when Creon comes in he gives her one extra day to stay? I mean he was right about Medea so why not just kick her out right then and there, it seems like he was not following his own logic about being soft now and regretting it later. Do you think he will regret it later? How do you think Medea will get back at Jason and his new wife, or how will she kill them? Do you think that Medea will be successful and make it out alive? I think that she will be successful in killing them but will be killed by Creon in the end. How do you think this Jason compares to the good guy Jason in Jason in the Argonauts?
Medea (entry #3)
ReplyDeleteNow to answer your questions, starting with the first one; I choose to believe that Medea says what she says to the chorus because she wants the chorus to sympathize with her, or at least understand what the situation she is going through looks like in her own eyes. Creon gives Medea an extra day because he heard what she had to say and fears that she may actually go through with everything, and by giving her an extra day she may spare his own life. In my opinion the extra day part shows how much of a coward Creon is, if he was a just and caring ruler he would have not allowed the marriage of his daughter and Jason to ever have happen. Yes I do think that Creon will regret all of this later on in the story. I think that Medea will have her revenge on everyone however I do not think that she cares about making it out alive, which makes her 100 times more dangerous. Why do you think that Jason decided to confront Medea after Creon did and attack her? Why is he trying to defend his actions? As to your question about Jason himself I believe that this current Jason is selfish, cowardly, and unsympathetic. Why do you think that Euripides has Jason completely turn his back on his own family? It seems like Euripides is trying to make a point about how men and the “heroes” of his time weren’t all that great in this play. In the argument between Jason and Medea, Jason says, “I think that Kypris, god of love, was the savior of my expedition, and she was the only one of gods or men” (523-524). Now Jason is trying to belittle Medea and what she did to help Jason get the Golden Fleece. Jason is trying to distance his accomplishments from Medea to try and make it seem like she did nothing but fall in love with Jason, rather than help in any way. In your opinion is it too late for Jason to apologize and try to diffuse the situation? Do you think that this comment from Jason has sealed his fate with Medea? The argument ends when Medea rejects help from Jason and sends him away to his new bride; do you think that it was smart on Medea’s part to throw away Jason’s help? Or does Euripides put this in the play only to show how strong Medea is and how determined she is in forging a new path on her own? Was Euripides trying to bring in a new age of women “heroes” with his play Medea?
Medea (entry #4)
ReplyDeleteAnswering your questions, I think Jason is way too late to fix this, I do not think he even wants it fixed, and he just wants Medea out of his life. I do not think that that comment set his fate, I think it is just his relationship with her, he deserves whatever she gives him. I do not think it matters if Medea has Jason`s help or not, she is just going to kill his wife and her kids and escape to Athens so why would she need it? I think she is so determined to do this that nothing can stop her. I do not know if we could classify Medea as a hero, she plans to poison the dress for Jason`s wife and kill her own children. Does someone like that sound like a hero to you? When Jason is talking to Medea he says, “There should be some other way for men to produce children. Women would not have to exist at all. And then humanity would be saved a lot of trouble.” (573-575). How do you feel about this quote from Jason? It surprised me when he said this, I always pictured Jason as a Hero. How do you think this Jason compares to the Jason in the movie Jason and the Argonauts? To get back at Jason Medea plans to poison a dress for Jason`s new wife and kill her own children, do you think that this is a good way to get back at Jason? Do you think that this is fair for her children? Is there any other way for Medea to get back at Jason without doing anything as horrible as this? I believe that Medea will be successful in killing Jason`s wife and her own children but I don’t know if she will be safe in Athens, what do you think?
Medea (entry #5)
ReplyDeleteWhen I asked before if you believed that Medea was a new “hero” that Euripides was trying out I meant it more as like the star of the show or the main character. I did not intended to make it sound like killing your children to get back at your betraying ex-husband is heroic or a good idea. Now in answering your questions I believe that Jason responds to Medea the way that he does because his emotions are on the rise and he is angry, I do not believe that he really means it when he wishes for women to not exist. The only reason Jason says any of this is because he is upset and wants to say something back at Medea that he knows will hurt her. I can’t say whether Medea’s plan is a good/effective one because I personally do not know how I would be able to respond if I were placed into her position. How would you respond if you were placed in Medea’s situation? However I will say that hurting the children is a mistake and I am 100% against it and would hate to have to see her actually go through with killing her own children; because that is something to remember, the kids aren’t just Jason’s they are also Medea’s. What does this tell you about her character? To me it shows that she will do anything that she possibly can in order to claim her revenge, though she does at least understand that what she is about to do is evil, “I understand what evil I am about to do but my wrath is stronger even than my thoughts” (1078-1079). Whose side is the right side to take in this play? Which side do you think that Euripides wants the audience to take? Yes Jason does deserve to be punished for what he has done, but Medea is also at fault for what she is about to do to her own children. My section shows Medea return from Athens to carry out her revenge and ends with Medea pondering whether what is about to happen really is what she wants. I do think that Medea will be successful in killing everyone that she intends to kill. I am not convinced that she will make it back to Athens or that she even cares about making it back to Athens safely. Do you think that Medea is ready and willing to die for her cause and do you think that she wants death for herself or to actually make it back to Athens and live out the rest of her days there?
Medea (entry #6)
ReplyDeleteIn answer to your questions, if I was in Medea`s shoes I definitely would not kill my husband’s new wife and my children, I can tell you that. Medea does not care about her children, she openly stated that, I think it shows that she will do anything to get back at Jason, and that revenge is all that she cares about. On whose side is better or the good side, I do not think that there is one. Jason is totally sexist and left his own family for Creon`s daughter, and Medea wants to kill her and her own kids, I think both sides are terrible and everyone is evil. I do not think Euripides wants the audience to take a side, this play is just a mess and bad decisions on everyone’s part. I do not think she cares about life and death, I think she is too caught up in killing Jason`s wife it does not matter to her. When Creon`s daughter dies, “the flesh was dripping from her bones like sap from a pine, through the hidden gnawing of the poisons” (1199-1200). Do you think that this was the proper way to get back at Jason? Even if killing her was appropriate to get back at him, do you think that also killing Creon and killing them in one of the most gruesome ways possible was the way she should have gotten back at him? Do you think that the terrible way she killed Creon`s daughter reflects the emotions she has towards Jason and the way she feels about her situation? In this scene Medea thinks about if she really wants to kill her kids or not, do you think that she really hates them or that she is just blinded by her hatred and revenge toward Jason?
Medea (entry #7)
ReplyDeleteTo answer your questions I do not think that what Medea has done is the proper or best way to get back at Jason for what he has done to her primarily because I have no idea what a fitting punishment would and should be for Jason. I believe that killing Creon wasn’t entirely necessary however it was a part of her original plan of revenge so it fits right into what Medea wanted to have happen. I could definitely be persuaded to see that the way that she kills Creon and his daughter is very significant because one could say that what Jason did caused her family and life to metaphorically melt away, so in order to get back at Jason Medea has his new family “melt” away from him without Jason being able to fix it or bring it back in any way. I am at least glad that she thinks about whether or not she should still kill her children; it shows that on some level (however small that may be) she does still care for them. However I am disappointed by the fact that she still believes that the children must die in order to complete her revenge against Jason. So with that in mind I do not believe that Medea fully “hates” her children, but that her rage and anger have indeed made her blind to the fact that the children are innocent. Something to think about however, do you personally think that Medea stops to think about killing her children because deep down she might actually care about them, or do you think that she stops to think about killing her children because it is socially unacceptable to kill your own children? I am not saying that I believe the second to be necessarily or completely true, but it wouldn’t surprise me if that were the case for Medea. Medea explains her actions to Jason by saying, “You can be certain of that. But the pain is pleasure if you do not laugh” (1362). That is a sicken thought that Medea has in her head, she would rather her family and children be dead and buried if it meant that it would bring pain and suffering to Jason. To your conclusion about there being no right or wrong side in this play, then what do you think Euripides point is throughout the play? Is Euripides trying to make a point at all or is it really like you said before and there is no meaning and this whole play is just one big mess. I for one do not wish to believe that it is just one big mess, but rather I would like to find some if any meaning in all of this, even if that one meaning is to not piss off your wife by going and marrying another woman.
Medea (entry #8)
ReplyDeleteI think that Medea stops to think about whether to kill her children or not because she really does love her children. I think that her love for her children is made clear in her final words with Jason in the end and that she even stops to think about whether it is worth it right before she does it again. I still do not understand why she did it though, I think that Medea is hurting herself more than Jason by killing the children because she has to bear the guilt of murdering her own children, where this will sadden Jason but it is not like he took part in the action of killing them. I have no idea of what the idea of the play is, I think it is just a story, but this certainly would be a good example of why you should stay loyal to your wife. My favorite line in the whole play is when Jason and Medea are arguing in the end and Medea is trying to leave, “Go home and bury your wife” (1394). I love it when Medea says this so much because it explains their relationship and the character of Medea herself. When she says this it hits Jason right where it hurts, which is what Medea has wanted to do this whole time. It shows her character by targeting what matters to Jason and hitting it as hard as she can, just like she killed her own kids just to make him miserable. It shows their relationship by showing that even after all that has happened, and the murder of her own children, Medea is going as hard as she can to ruin Jason, to destroy him. I do not think she could have said anything worse. This hits even harder by the fact that she is holding their dead children.
Much of our job as AP scholars is to investigate how an author achieves the deeper meaning of a work, so in our context it's safe to assume Medea has one! Based on the good threads you've pursued, I'd guess you'd find the most deeper meaning in the realm of power in relationships (as you discuss how all the characters feel about and manipulate each other) or in the realm of the effects of emotion (as you discuss Medea's ironic choice to follow her blind rage). Thanks for this exploration, (And remember you're reading the same book, so no need to summarize.) Grade on Pp.
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