A Woman’s Love
In ancient Greece, women are supposed to uphold a certain standard. You have an ideal woman and a woman that is considered a disgrace to the Greek society. The ideal woman is to be smart, loyal, beautiful, and submissive. The Greeks had a patriarchal society. Meaning, the men controlled how things were. The men aren’t held to standards like the women are. One mistaken and a woman is considered a horrible person. In many Greek mythology stories, there are very few women that actually hold this standard. Majority of the women are portrayed to be the bad guy, instead of the perfect wife. This brings me to comparing and contrasting Medea from the Greek story ‘Euripides’ and Penelope from ‘The Odyssey’.
Penelope’s love for Odysseus …show more content…
She is known for being a lair, manipulator and murderer. Her love was intended to be great but her husband Jason did her wrong. I feel that Medea is the victim and villain all in one. Jason leaves her for another woman and she doesn’t handle the situation like other Greek women would. She did not care about her possessions and how others would look at her; it was about love and respect. The two things her husband didn’t do right by. “Of all the living creatures with as soul and mind, we women are the most pathetic (Euripides 792 ).” This is known to be true in Medea’s case. She felt that ‘of all creatures that can feel and think, we women are the worst treated things alive’. In the Greek society divorce is a disgrace, at least for women. Medea is a scorned woman that wants revenge and no one can have her husband if she can’t. She goes on a killing spree; she kills her two sons, her ex-husband’s new wife, and a king. Medea had her own way of thinking, she leaves home without consent from her father which isn’t the normal thing to do for women. She is not submissive like every wife should be. Though she did not keep the standard of the model woman, it was acceptable for her. All she wants is to be loved and understood. The ideal women of Greek society are supposed to be this perfect person. It is hard for her to remain this way when the person she loves the most breaks her
In ancient Greece, women are supposed to uphold a certain standard. You have an ideal woman and a woman that is considered a disgrace to the Greek society. The ideal woman is to be smart, loyal, beautiful, and submissive. The Greeks had a patriarchal society. Meaning, the men controlled how things were. The men aren’t held to standards like the women are. One mistaken and a woman is considered a horrible person. In many Greek mythology stories, there are very few women that actually hold this standard. Majority of the women are portrayed to be the bad guy, instead of the perfect wife. This brings me to comparing and contrasting Medea from the Greek story ‘Euripides’ and Penelope from ‘The Odyssey’.
Penelope’s love for Odysseus …show more content…
She is known for being a lair, manipulator and murderer. Her love was intended to be great but her husband Jason did her wrong. I feel that Medea is the victim and villain all in one. Jason leaves her for another woman and she doesn’t handle the situation like other Greek women would. She did not care about her possessions and how others would look at her; it was about love and respect. The two things her husband didn’t do right by. “Of all the living creatures with as soul and mind, we women are the most pathetic (Euripides 792 ).” This is known to be true in Medea’s case. She felt that ‘of all creatures that can feel and think, we women are the worst treated things alive’. In the Greek society divorce is a disgrace, at least for women. Medea is a scorned woman that wants revenge and no one can have her husband if she can’t. She goes on a killing spree; she kills her two sons, her ex-husband’s new wife, and a king. Medea had her own way of thinking, she leaves home without consent from her father which isn’t the normal thing to do for women. She is not submissive like every wife should be. Though she did not keep the standard of the model woman, it was acceptable for her. All she wants is to be loved and understood. The ideal women of Greek society are supposed to be this perfect person. It is hard for her to remain this way when the person she loves the most breaks her