While reading Medea, I was rather intrigued by the notion of vengeance. Obviously, revenge is not a revolutionary new concept, but what captured my attention was the lengths to which one will go to attain it. I was not surprised by the bewitching of Helios’ jewelry in order to destroy Creon’s daughter, but what did confuse me was Medea’s desire to slaughter her offspring. It was brilliant to see the conflict raging inside her, with her motherly love and monstrous desire for revenge constantly drawing her back and forth. This demonstrates both the strength of the bond between a mother and child, but also the infectious quality of hatred. It is unimaginable to be in a state where one is so consumed with a raging passion that she disregards all humanly bonds.
Another aspect that I noted was the sexual deviancy pinpointed against women. It was interesting to see the females as being consumed “with the pleasures of the bed,” (54, ll 588), as in our modern society, our culture typically places this on men. This portrays the cultural beliefs of the Greek people, similar to The Odyssey, in which the sirens are seen as the evil seductresses.
There was also a distinct amount of sea imagery. The work describes raging storms, ships dropping anchor, and other nautical terms. In terms of the storm, it indefinitely refers to the state of Medea’s life, turned topsy-turvy. It may also be a representation of Medea’s mental storm; she is so engulfed with rage and hatred that it clouds perception. Her mental storm also occurs in the form of her conflict between her love for her sons and her malicious desire for vengeance.
Finally, it was interesting to see the the fragility of the human word. Medea consistently remarks at Jason’s casual ability to break the oath he made for her on their wedding day. Marriage vows are meant to be eternal, yet it appears that he is completely nonchalant towards the entire scenario.
In all honesty, I thought that this play was very strange. I appreciate the thematic values of femininity, vengeance, and betrayal, but it still left me perplexed.