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‘There is more than one villain in Medea’.
The tragedy ‘Medea’ written by Euripides contrasts the actions taken by the protagonist Medea and the antagonist Jason. While each of them prioritised different things in life, it is clear at the end of the play, that their actions, which stemmed from selfishness have brought sufferings onto others as well as themselves. However, through the unraveling of the play, Euripides also suggests that these actions may in fact be a way to uphold justice, depending on the different perspectives.
Jason’s betrayal is not only a product of his ambition, but also as a result of the values held in Ancient Greek society. Whilst Medea thought Jason has fallen ‘hopelessly in love with a new bride’ and therefore abandoned her, Jason however justified his choice in his dialogue to Medea, by his aspiration to ‘ensure … prosperity’. His relentless peruse to restore his family’s royal name and statues may even seem plausible, especially considering the toll it has taken on his family and his relationship with Medea at the end of the play, when he lost everything. Whilst some viewers might not agree with this, for Medea had sacrificed so much, only to be abandoned later, it is always important to note that in ancient Greek society it was the norm for men to take many wives. Although in today’s society this is simply outrageous, Jason was ‘not so different from the rest of mankind’ back in his time. Thus, while Medea is clearly the victim of Jason’s containable ego, and reckless treatments, his actions however is justified by reason and the value of the society to some degree.
On the other hand, Medea based all her decisions on the purpose of revenge. At the start, she ‘seeks to please [Jason] in all she does’, but as soon as she felt a sense of disloyalty from him, her whole demeanor changed. She not only became hysterical, but also vowed to ‘make corpses three of [her] enemies’ in her aside, foreshadowing the vile actions of her revenge. She stayed true to her words by poisoning Creon and Glauce to avenge her ‘bridal bed’ and killing her two children, because she knew this would hurt Jason the most. For these children not only were the symbolism of their now-perished love, but *sons were also considered a pivotal aspect of a man’s life in ancient Greece, who not only passes on his name, but also his legacy*. This importance was also demonstrated by Aegeus’ painstaking quest to bear children, as well as his offer to help Medea with the promise of offspring. Therefore, it is by destroying these people closest to Jason, Medea can break Jason entirely, the same way he broke her heart. Hence, it is clear that because of her jealousy and vengeful nature, Medea had set out to destroy two households purposely, which makes her actions inexcusable.
Yet despite this, the absence of punishments from the Gods and the fact that Medea is a foreigner in exile has helped to build the case that she is a victim instead of a villain. It may be seen that the Gods guided her hand in taking revenge, because the chorus had foreshadowed that the Gods will aid her ‘in seeing justice done’. Additionally, as the direct descendant of the Sun God Helios, she had in her possession a flying chariot, which was significant in her plan of escape, this too shows that, somehow the Gods had approved of her methods and were letting her get away with all these murders unscathed. Furthermore, the infanticide Medea committed which made her all the more ruthless may be justified by her inability to raise children as a foreigner and a barbarian in exile, for she is only a women and had no means to provide for them; she also feared for the same fate of exile for her children, because she had already experienced first-hand the sorrow and the misery at ‘being denied one’s native land’, thus prompting her to kill them in order to protect them from the harshness of the world. Therefore, the Gods’ support for Medea and the revelation of the chorus view on those with the fate of exile build a convincing case that all of Medea’s actions were somehow justified.
Ultimately, Euripides portrayed Jason as a predominantly selfish character who inflicted pain on others, but were justified in his behaviors because of the social value at the time. Medea is in the main a cold murderer, avenging her love, but due to the lack of intervention by the Gods, it may seem that she is innocent after all. The division between being a victim and a villain is very fine and depending on the viewers’ perspectives, they may come to different conclusions about the number of villains present in the play. However through Medea, Euripides invite the discussion about how much of hatred and selfishness becomes too much for characters to cross that line.
* I remember reading this sentence somewhere and copied it into my word bank, I probably should have paraphrased it, but i had trouble doing it. If anyone remember seeing this, please let me know the source, so I can acknowledge it.
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