Can someone give my essay a mark out of 10, pretending that I have a complete essay with a conclusion, and maybe give some constructive feedback please. I've left out the conclusion but considering that the bulk of the marks come from the body of the essay, it shouldn't be a huge deal. Thank you in advance!
To what extent does Medea succeed in her quest to become a hero?
Euripides conveys the success of protagonist Medea’s endeavour to become a hero by exploring the defining characteristics of one throughout ‘Medea’. In male-dominated, ancient Greek society, the author epitomises Medea as a hero of the female sex who advocates against the oppression by men. Although she exhibits traits belonging to a hero of women, Euripides also exposes women as treacherous, murderous beings by depicting Medea as a sorceress of ‘dark knowledge’ and a ‘children-killer’, contradicting her heroic front. Medea is also a tragic heroine; she is a person of noble stature, granddaughter of Sun God Helios, possessing a hamartia (tragic flaw), which leads to an error in judgment and ultimately her downfall. Others also pity a tragic hero for their undeserved misfortunes, as evident in the Chorus’ sympathy for Medea. Her success of developing into a hero of women is lauded despite its criticisms, however she does fulfil the criteria of a tragic heroine.
Medea challenges society’s paradigm of the typical woman who is a ‘timid creature’ and a ‘coward when it comes to fighting’ through her headstrong, opinionated character, which establishes her as a role model for women. Aggrieved by Jason’s infidelity, Medea does not submissively tolerate his actions and pass on counterfeit blessings, but rather seeks retribution for the injustice done to her, as she wishes to see ‘him and his bride in utter ruin’. Medea’s recognition of her right to seek revenge on Jason ascends her to an equal standing with the male sex, as she is demanding for reciprocation which can only be achieved when both parties are equal. Furthermore, Euripides depicts Medea to rise against the socially accepted standard for women in ancient Greece, often horrifying male audiences as Medea declares she would rather ‘face the enemy three times over than bear a child once’. When Creon demands for her banishment, Medea does not falter to argue her ill circumstances and for her children’s sake in the face of a man. There is no acknowledgement of the importance of gender roles in society according to Medea as she deems both men and women to be on equal footing. As an advocate for women, she speaks for the ‘Ladies of Corinth’ that ‘women are the most miserable of specimens’ and subsequently exposes the misfortunes they endure through marriage and divorce. The Chorus is enthralled by Medea’s valiant character and asserts her actions for ‘recompense is coming for the female sex’ as they seem to be vicariously living through her revenge on Jason and Creon. Through her heretical actions in opposition to a male-dominated society, Medea becomes a hero of women, achieving ‘true fame in life’.
Despite Medea’s excellent qualities of a leader of the female sex, Euripides also portrays women as incompetent individuals at the deprivation of a husband, and exposes their deceptive, murderous nature, through the protagonist. Medea illustrates the utter despair and pessimism that overcome a woman at the event of her husband’s betrayal, exemplifying women to be absolutely dependent on men. Crying her ‘laments’, she immerses into dejection and questions ‘what benefit is it to [her] to continue living’, as she fails to recognise the value of life, only because she is without a husband. In this sense, Medea is no hero of women in that she only achieves to cause women to be more susceptible to the mockery of men. Medea brings to light the deceptive, cunning nature of women when she manipulates her tongue to beguile Aegeus into providing her refuge in Athens, Creon to permit her another day’s stay and Jason to have faith in her ‘honeyed words’. Moreover, Medea portrays women to be malevolent criminals as she brutally murders Glauce with her ‘poisons’ and slaughters the very children she painfully borne. Medea’s representation of women in ancient Greek society is abominable, as she is ‘not a woman, but a lioness’; however, in spite of her ill portrayal, her strengths as a hero of the female sex outweigh her weaknesses.
More successful than a hero of women, Medea develops into a tragic heroine. After achieving great stature by paving way for Jason’s successful capture of the Golden Fleece, her ‘heart transfixed by desire for Jason’ becomes her hamartia. As a result, Medea sets out to treacherously murder Pelias and her brother, only to meet the tragic result of exile from Colchis for her crimes. Her undeserved misfortunes epitomises Medea as a true tragic heroine. Indifferent to Medea’s countless sacrifices of her homeland and family members, Jason selfishly betrays her for a loftier position, ‘a princess’ bed’, rendering her husband-less in foreign land with children. She is ‘abandoned, homeless, a cruel husband’s plaything’ and yet Creon strives to drive her out of Corinth, illustrating that she is truly deplorable for her costly sacrifices are in vain and has no land to welcome her in open arms. The Chorus accentuates Medea’s ill fortunes by expressing sympathy and pity for her homeless circumstances wherein they deem ‘to be denied one’s native land is a misery beyond all others’ and that she has ‘suffered suffering’s worst’. In order to quell the ‘anger that crushes [her] heart’ caused by Jason, Medea is coerced into murdering her own children, which proves to be most lamentable as ‘[she] will take their life, [she] who gave them life’. The audience is subjected to sympathise with Medea until the end of the play, as they acknowledge that despite Medea’s accomplishment of executing revenge on Jason, she has lost her only family left, and is a ‘woman born to sorrow’. The inevitable turn of events that continue to afflict Medea until the end is woeful, as she did not intend for all this misfortune to occur and thus becomes a tragic heroine.
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