Medea: Passion versus Responsibility

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorHigh School, 12th grade February 2008

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In the Greek Tragedy, Medea, Medea was betrayed greatly by her husband. Her passionate love switched to passionate hate, and contradicted her role as a mother with her fulfilling her vengeance. She obsesses over he plan for revenge over Jason bringing her to question rather or not she should sacrifice the lives of their two sons, in order to swipe Jason?s smile off his face, and fully overcome him. Medea passion, without Jason to level it out, can be unfortunate and defiling. Bringing Medea to believe that the only way to fully defeat Jason was to complete a task that would also cause her grief, but when passion or obsession interferes with responsibilities one must prevail. In this case passion prevailed and Medea overcame Jason.

The capacity of Jason?s betrayal hardened Medea leading her to curse her house and children. She felt belittled and betrayed, indifferent and powerless against the role of women in Greek.

Feeling that women were only to do nothing less than what their husband asked. Not able to speak up when her husband?s eyes pried on some other woman. Medea was devoted to Jason despite this. She suffered alienation from her family for despising them, and lost many friends. Jason?s lack of emotion and reasoning lead him to make this not-thought-out- enough choice, the choice to leave her for the Princess Crusa to promote his status. His betrayal brought out imperfections in Medea, imperfections to reason and overcome. So Medea sought up the one plan she must carry out in order avenge Jason, even if it could also cause her grief.

For her vengeance to be fully fulfilled she would have to kill their two sons. She discovered how important offspring were to men; it?s the ability to have your name carry on. Medea...