The only people we can feel sorry for in Medea are the children. Everyone else gets what they deserve.

The characters of Euripides' play Medea require to be viewed from a variety of perspectives. To say that the only characters that deserve the audience's sympathy are the children is not totally correct. As far as the plot is concerned the children are no doubt the innocent victims of this conflict between Medea and Jason, however there are other characters that also deserve our sympathy. Also to vaguely state that 'everyone else gets what they deserve' requires further analysis of the extent to which their ultimate fate is justified.

Some critics say that Medea is a mad woman driven by her lack of control of her emotions. Throughout the play this description of her had proven to be true, however this does not mean we do not feel at all sympathetic towards her. If the audience can look at the world through her perspective, then it would not be surprising to see why she is so uncontrollably driven by her fury and passion.

Euripides

English: Fragment from a vellum codex of Euripides...

English: Maria Germanova as Medea

As a foreign princess, a wife, a mother and a woman, the humiliation and pain that had been bought upon her is all too overwhelming. 'She will not eat; she lies collapsed in agony, dissolving the long hours in tears.' The pain and suffering that Medea experienced deserve the audience's sympathy.

Another source of sympathy that we should feel for Medea comes from her role as a mother. As she decides to kill her own children, her mind becomes torn apart by inner conflict as a mother and as the emotion driven beast. There are many evidence throughout the play that shows her sense of maternal devotion. 'That you once loved them, that of your body they were born. For one short day forget your children; afterwards weep: though you kill them, they were...