What is the message of Medea?

2 years ago

2 minutes

The main themes in Medea are revenge, passion, gender, and power. Revenge: Medea’s revenge is cruel and excessive, and she pays a heavy personal price to enact it. Medea’s righteous fury overwhelms everything else, allowing her to kill her own children so long as Jason also suffers.

What is the meaning behind Medea?

Meaning & History

From Greek Μήδεια (Medeia), derived from μήδεα (medea) meaning “plans, counsel, cunning“. In Greek mythology Medea was a sorceress from Colchis (modern Georgia) who helped Jason gain the Golden Fleece. They were married, but eventually Jason left her for another woman.

What is the dramatic meaning of Medea?

Whether in love or in hate, Medea commits herself to a course of action regardless of the consequences. Medea is often considered a psychological study of Medea herself, exploring questions about passion, murder, and the circumstances that would inspired a woman to kill her own children.

What is Medea’s speech about?

In one of the most chilling monologues in all of Greek Mythology, Medea seeks revenge against the heroic yet callous Jason (the father of her children) by killing her own offspring.

What themes are in Medea?

Themes

Women and Femininity.
Revenge.
Betrayal.
Exile.
Foreignness and ‘The Other’
Marriage.
Cunning and Cleverness.
Love.

What happens to Medea at the end of the play?

In the end, though, revenge is more important to Medea than maternal love, and she kills her children in order “To get at [Jason’s] heart” (233). Her methods are effective; Jason is decimated at the end of the play.