Medea 's Conflict Between Duty and Freedom After failing to access the throne and bringing the king 's daughters to boil their father alive, Jason and Medea flee his hometown of Iolcus and settle in Corinth. When King Creon gives Jason the opportunity to be part of the royal family by marrying his daughter, Jason abandons his wife and children, leaving a betrayed Medea filled with rage and desire for revenge.
Medea 's early feminism leads her to put the defense of her reputation ahead of her maternal obligations as she decides to accomplish her revenge at the detriment of her children 's life.
While Medea battles her conscience between accomplishing her revenge and protecting her children, Jason undeniably bears responsibility in Medea 's …show more content…
She struggles between the two excruciating choices she faces: to protect the children she loves, or to punish her husband for his betrayal. While Medea momentarily consider giving up her plan and leave in exile with her sons, she promptly brings her focus back to the defense of her honor and reputation. Rather than a conflict between “two philosophies of life”, this becomes a conflict between “two Medeas”, the vengeful wife who needs to punish Jason for his affront, and the mother who wishes to shelter her beloved children (Palmer). If Medea 's dilemma is focused on her own feelings, she acknowledges the repercussions of her actions on Jason, and finds his suffering an additional motivation to commit …show more content…
Her speech to the women of Corinth is well known to support that statement. However, her relation with Jason and Creon also shows that Medea sees herself as their equal, and thus her status to be above the women of her time. Benjamin Garstad argues that “Creon’s daughter is, moreover, not the equal of Medea. Medea is active like a man, Creon’s daughter is passive as a woman was expected” (Garstad). Medea does indeed treat Creon and Jason as her main enemies and makes very little references to the King 's daughter in her speeches. She directs her rage and vengeance toward those men only, condemning them to the identical punishment of taking their children away from them. Considering that a Greek woman of that era had no access to “model of full social and ethical autonomy” Medea borrows “heroic masculine ethical standards”to justify her choice (Foley). Therefore, it can be argued that Medea pushed her feminism to an extreme by putting her pride and reputation, often seen as male attribute in the Greek society, ahead of her women 's obligations of motherhood. Medea “refuses to be a victim of abuse by social norms on women” ( Name of the source) and her actions set a new standard for Athenian women, empowering them to take actions and reject their status of submissive wifes, mothers, and
Medea 's early feminism leads her to put the defense of her reputation ahead of her maternal obligations as she decides to accomplish her revenge at the detriment of her children 's life.
While Medea battles her conscience between accomplishing her revenge and protecting her children, Jason undeniably bears responsibility in Medea 's …show more content…
She struggles between the two excruciating choices she faces: to protect the children she loves, or to punish her husband for his betrayal. While Medea momentarily consider giving up her plan and leave in exile with her sons, she promptly brings her focus back to the defense of her honor and reputation. Rather than a conflict between “two philosophies of life”, this becomes a conflict between “two Medeas”, the vengeful wife who needs to punish Jason for his affront, and the mother who wishes to shelter her beloved children (Palmer). If Medea 's dilemma is focused on her own feelings, she acknowledges the repercussions of her actions on Jason, and finds his suffering an additional motivation to commit …show more content…
Her speech to the women of Corinth is well known to support that statement. However, her relation with Jason and Creon also shows that Medea sees herself as their equal, and thus her status to be above the women of her time. Benjamin Garstad argues that “Creon’s daughter is, moreover, not the equal of Medea. Medea is active like a man, Creon’s daughter is passive as a woman was expected” (Garstad). Medea does indeed treat Creon and Jason as her main enemies and makes very little references to the King 's daughter in her speeches. She directs her rage and vengeance toward those men only, condemning them to the identical punishment of taking their children away from them. Considering that a Greek woman of that era had no access to “model of full social and ethical autonomy” Medea borrows “heroic masculine ethical standards”to justify her choice (Foley). Therefore, it can be argued that Medea pushed her feminism to an extreme by putting her pride and reputation, often seen as male attribute in the Greek society, ahead of her women 's obligations of motherhood. Medea “refuses to be a victim of abuse by social norms on women” ( Name of the source) and her actions set a new standard for Athenian women, empowering them to take actions and reject their status of submissive wifes, mothers, and