The Representation of Femininity in Euripides Medea Essay

The Representation of Femininity in Euripides Medea Works Cited Not At the time Euripides wrote Medea, Ancient Greece was a patriarchal society: women had little or no rights, and were treated as the weaker sex. Women were expected to stay at home and bear and care for their children, while men went to work ?wives to produce true-born children and to be trustworthy guardians of the household? (Resource Book 3, D5b ? Demosthenes 59.122). Men made the rules, while women were expected to be passive and weak, and were thought to be ?silly creatures? with no mind of their own. This is illustrated in Lysias? speech written for a man whose wife had committed adultery, where the man blames the ?defendant? for seducing his wife. He†¦show more content†¦In the first scene of Euripides? Medea, the Nurse describes the background to the story of how Medea and Jason came to be together, and it is clear that the Nurse is on Medea?s side, she say?s ?Poor Medea? twice in the speech (lines 19 and 32), and again when Medea can be heard wailing from inside the house (line 114). She explains that Medea loved Jason and was quite happy to be the meek and mild wife she was expected to be ?while to Jason she is all obedience ? and in marriage that?s the saving thing, when a wife obediently accepts her husband?s will? (lines 12-15). However, once Jason betrayed her and married Princess Glauce, Medea rejects her feminine side and behaves in a more masculine way. She becomes full of hate and plots revenge on Jason, speaking of him as an enemy to be defeated. ?If I can find a way to work revenge on Jason for his wrongs to me? (lines 258-259) implies that Jason has committed the ultimate sin and she must punish him ? for Medea there is no other way. During the Nurses speech, Medea stays inside the house crying and wailing, displaying the feminine trait of being highly emotional, ?she lies collapsed in agony, dissolving the long hours in tears?, (lines 23-24), as if she is behaving like a woman while in the domain of the house. The Chorus of Corinthian women enter after hearing of Medea?s distress ?I heard that unhappy woman from Colchis still crying, not calm yet? (linesShow MoreRelatedConflict Between Male And Female Characters2154 Words   |  9 Pageswhilst in tragedy, it appears rarer. Furthermore, in tragedy the role reversal focuses on the women’s function as usurping the roles designated for male characters. Euripides’ Medea and Aristophanes’ Women at Thesmophoria provide one with a paradigm from each genre of how sexual role reversal can explore alternative representations of gender and result in having a transgressive impact on dominating gender ideology. Both playwrights present complex characters that conform to and discard their traditionalRead MoreEssay on The Lives of Athenian Women1880 Words   |  8 Pagesrights. `The position of women...is a subject which has provoked much controversy. (Lacey: 1968, 151). Studies concerning the lives of women in classical Athens have sparked much controversy because, despite the apparent fascination with femininity manifested in art and drama, we have no evidence voicing the opinions of the actual women themselves. This presents a paradox between an Athenian womans everyday life and her prominence in art and literature. (Just: 1989; Gomme: 1925, Gould: 1980;