Euripides’ Perspective

6 Pages 1623 Words

Euripides’ Perspective
Hell hath no fury, like a woman scorned. Most people are familiar with this phrase, but often do not fully think about what this statement means. It means that a scorned woman’s actions aren’t comparable, even to what atrocities Hell has to offer. To say that a scorned woman’s vengefulness is to be more feared than anything in Hell is a pretty outlandish statement. It means that a woman who has been scorned is more powerful than the worst place imaginable. The theme of a “woman scorned” is definitely prevalent through out the story of Medea, which was written by Euripides, the legendary Greek playwright. Euripides voiced his opinions about Greek society, through his characters. By using the characters in his plays to comment on Greek society, Euripides was able to expose his audience to new perspectives on women’s roles in society, as well as new perspectives on religion.
To summarize the story of Medea, Jason and Medea are living in Corinth with their two children. Having moved there, all of them are considered outsiders; thus they find no role for themselves in this new society. As a male of Greek heritage, Jason has a problem with this. To solve his problem, Jason plans to marry King Creon’s daughter, abandoning his family. King Creon then exiles Medea from Corinth. Needless to say, Medea is very upset about this situation. She conspires to kill King Creon’s daughter, along with her own children, just to make Jason suffer. She sends the princess a poisoned dress. Once the princess puts it on, she bursts into flames. The king then comes in, embraces his daughter’s body, which melts him to her, and then he himself dies. Then, upon hearing of their deaths, Medea puts her final action into place. She proceeds to kill her own children. She kills her own children because she knows that is the only thing that will avenge what Jason did to her. It is the only way to make him tr...