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The role of children in plot development of Euripides’ ‘Medea’ to characterise Medea as an unconventional Ancient Greek tragic heroine 

 

Tragic heroes in Ancient Greek theatre are usually respected individuals whose flaws (hamartia) lead their downfall and death. In Euripides’ ‘Medea’, however, the title character is hardly conventional as a tragic heroine. Instead of dying, this outsider in Ancient Greek society suffers from murdering her children in order to revenge her husband Jason. This difference between the protagonist and a conventional tragic hero makes the characterisation of Medea unique. In Euripides’ play, the complication that centres Medea and Jason’s sons, Creon’s daughter, and children longed for by King Aegeus develops the plot as a means of presenting this unconventional tragic heroine.

 

The play opens with descriptions of how Medea has avoided company of her own children. Far from being a respected member of Ancient Greek society, Medea is considered to lack moderation. According to the Chorus of Corinthian Women, Medea’s ‘passion’, exemplified by the fact that ‘she lies without food’ and ‘gives herself to the suffering’ (Euripides 2), is capable of moving ‘into something great’ (Euripides 7). Although this already introduces an outsider of society who has been wronged by her husband and isolates herself from others out of sorrow, Euripides further highlights Medea’s unconventionality by having the Nurse report to the audience, ‘She has turned from the children, and does not like to see them’ (Euripides 2). The Nurse’s description of Medea’s behaviour that centres her refusal to interact with her children is presented to the play’s viewers before they can form judgement about Medea by seeing her physical debut onstage. An indirect portrayal of Medea through the language of the Nurse, who has known her from Medea’s childhood, underscores her recent distraught that is uncommon in this moderate society, and further, defies the tragic hero formula by presenting Medea as an outsider of society who ignores her children. Possibly, the children’s physical appearance reminds Medea of Jason, her unrequited love for whom has triggered revenge. Medea’s strong emotion is highlighted by this line, as Medea, consumed by her own need, becomes blind to the innocence of her children, who play no role in Jason’s betrayal of their mother. The use of present perfect tense, ‘has turned’ (Euripides 2) evokes a sense of prolonged duration from the first time Medea learns about Jason’s betrayal to the present moment, when she further isolates herself from even the children she has loved. This description presents the audience with a woman who fails to fulfil her domestic duty of being a caring mother, for females in Ancient Greek households were expected to raise and care for the children. Medea’s disregard for her children indicates that she does not share the tenets of society.

 

Although Medea is not tolerated by society, she plots her revenge actively, unlike most tragic heroes who become increasingly passive in their downfall. In fulfilling every stage of her revenge, Medea uses children to manipulate those in power. As King, Creon does not hesitate in confessing, ‘I love my country too - next after my children’ (Euripides 11) to Medea. The character of a calculating Medea emerges when she uses Creon’s love for his children as his weakness, begging him to grant her to ‘remain here just for this one day’ to ‘look for support for my children’ (Euripides 12) while she ironically intends to use this day to revenge Creon’s daughter. To convince Creon further, Medea directly addresses him, stating ‘You have children of your own’ (Euripides 12) to evoke empathy. In this circumstance, his daughter’s involvement develops the plot and builds an actively plotting character. Similarly, Medea’s own children are used to murder the princess when she sends them to ‘carry [the poisoned gifts] to the bride, so as not to be banished’ (Euripides 26). Because children are associated with innocence, Medea has been ‘clever’ (Euripides 10) in sending them to deliver the presents of death. Although killing the princess is an essential component of Medea’s revenge, it is also a tipping point at which Medea’s children have become doomed. The children of a murderess may be harmed by ‘the royal house’ while ‘taking vengeance of their mother’s wicked deed’ (Euripides 42). A direct result of this plot development is Medea’s inevitable murder of those children that leads to the climax of her downfall and becomes her greatest punishment. Despite the fact that typical tragic heroes are punished for their harm to society by death, Medea leaves Corinth, concluding the play in a deux ex machina ending. Though as a descendent from God, Medea’s chariot from her ‘father’s father’ Helius can ‘defend me [Medea] from my enemies’ (Euripides 43), her escape would not have been possible without the significant role of children desired by Aegeus, who needs heirs to the throne as King of Athens. In order to demand Aegeus’ pledge to let her ‘stay there [Athens as a sanctuary] safely’ (Euripides 24) after committing her deeds, Medea promises to ‘end your [Aegeus’] childlessness’ (Euripides 23) using her knowledge of sorcery. Her flight from Corinth, instead of death, is not an ultimate escape from guilt for she admits to ‘feel the pain’ and ‘share my [Jason’s] sorrow’ (Euripides 44). Thus, each stage of Medea’s revenge made possible by the involvement of children in plot progression contributes to her successful revenge by murdering her own children. Medea’s active planning is unconventional compared to that of tragic heroes whose downfall renders them passive.

 

Yet, the title character of Euripides’ play is not entirely an exception from tragic heroes, for it is largely a tragic flaw that leads her to downfall. One may attribute Medea’s passionate love for Jason as her hamartia that leads her to release selfish rage by the destruction of the previously happy households of Jason and Creon. The involvement of Medea’s children in this tragedy serves to demonstrate an affectionate facet of Medea’s character, which may otherwise be difficult to showcase through Medea’s interactions with grownup characters. Despite Euripides’ consistent portrayal of Medea as a ‘clever’ and ‘sharp-tempered’ (Euripides 11) woman, Medea is capable of passionate love, as illustrated by the alteration in her language when she addresses her children. Having previously spent much time cleverly and cunningly plotting her revenge by manipulating Creon, Aegeus, and Jason, Medea mentions that she will never see her own children ‘happy’ or before she has ‘dressed your [the children’s] brides and made your marriage beds’ (Euripides 33). Even as a foreigner, Medea shows an attempt to conform to Ancient Greek marriage customs. She uses tender language to imagine an originally pleasant mother-son relationship that she would enjoy, had not Jason ruined it by disregarding her passionate love and provoking her rage. When the children smile innocently to Medea, she exclaims, ‘Why, children, do you smile so sweetly the last smile of all?’ (Euripides 34) Contrary to her ecstatic state of mind when murdering the princess and hearing the news of Creon’s consequent death, Medea’s softness is a direct reflection of her ability and nature to love dearly. This affection has almost been as great as to become a hinderance to Medea’s predetermined murder of the children, when she questions herself ‘What can I do’ and saying ‘My spirit has gone from me’ (Euripides 34) when her children are present. Medea even hesitates and ‘renounce my [her] plans’ (Euripides 34) before remembering that she should hate her enemies more than love her children. The extent to which Medea’s love is passionate, an opposite to the ideal of moderation, is shown by her behaviour when the children are present, validating the attribution of ‘passionate love’, ‘an evil to men’ (Euripides 11), as her driving force to revenge and downfall. 

 

The role of children is significant in portraying Medea as an unconventional tragic heroine. Children, who first assist in establishing Medea as an outsider of society, are manipulated by Medea as she achieves her revenge that results in an atypical ending compared with that of other Ancient Greek tragedies. ‘Stained with your [her] children’s blood’ (Euripides 44), Medea experiences a different kind of punishment for her ‘dreadful deed’ (Euripides 43) through the mental pain she has to suffer by living on. Although through these aspects that involve children, Medea can be differentiated from the tragic hero from Aristotle’s Poetics, she is yet a tragic heroine since Medea’s interaction with her children reveals a defining tragic flaw that leads her to downfall. Her question for Jason ‘Is love so small a pain?’ (Euripides 44) is a direct revelation of her hamartia (passionate love) demonstrated by her language to her children as a cause of tragedy for Jason, herself, their sons, Creon and his daughter. In this regard, Medea is an unconventional tragic heroine partly due to the role of children in plot development of the play.

 

 

Works Cited

 

Euripides.Warner, Rex. Medea. New York: Dover Publications, 1993. Print.

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哈佛法學院2021屆 Juris Doctor、哈佛亞洲法律協會主席。美國聯邦法院 judicial law clerk。2018年以最高榮譽畢業於美國頂尖文理學院Pomona College,大三時入選美国大学优等生协会Phi Beta Kappa並擔任西班牙語榮譽協會主席。多家國際刊物撰稿人及專欄記者、《克萊蒙特法律及公共政策期刊》總編及《北美聯合法律期刊》創始人。劍橋大學唐寧學者。羅德獎學金最終候選人。

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