Oh my gucci, is it possible that I'm first? Let me bite my tongue, I'm sure Jesse will sneak on to here before I'm able to post.
So one of the books I read this summer was Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows. While that book was amazing and better than any book we could ever possibly read in English class, that's not the book I'm going to write about. I also read Medea by Euripides. It's a short but very action packed Greek tragic play that involves a woman named Medea (not to be confused with the mad black woman who goes on family reunions and has previously been incarcerated) whose husband has just left her in order to marry the princess of Corinth. While most other women would take this as a time to simply grieve and cry and cuddle up watching movies such as PS: I Love You and The Notebook (or in Medea's case, My Big Fat Greek Wedding) while eating as much Ben&Jerry's as possible, Medea is a vengeful soul, and swears to get revenge on her husband for leaving her so abruptly.
The passage from the play that I chose is pretty simple to understand, but I feel as though it completely explains her reasoning behind all of the actions she later on performs:
"Life has no pleasure left, dear friends --
I want to die."
(Medea, p.6)
Medea says this around the very beginning of the play, when people all around the town are telling each other of the latest gossip: Jason, Medea's husband, has left her, and Medea is absolutely distraught. Everyone is fearing for the safety of themselves, Medea, and most importantly, her children. It is the essential essence of the plot, the fact that she wants to reciprocate what Jason has done to her; she wants to make him feel as grief-stricken as she has felt, and will go to any lengths to do so. It is the motive that Medea uses to justify the atrocities that she will soon commit, the fact that she no longer cares whether or not she lives or dies, because everything she once lived for is gone.
It's crazy to think that the loss of a husband could affect a woman so intensely, however it's apparent that Medea no longer has any regard for herself or her well-being. By this, I mean that in her eyes, her life is over, and she no longer has a reason to be careful or conscious of some actions that might get her in trouble. As of this moment in her life, nothing could make her feel worse than the way she's feeling now. As soon as I read it, I knew that it was the biggest piece of foreshadowing in the history of literature since Voldemort's soul was blasted apart the night he tried to kill Harry. Medea is already known throughout the town as being a vengeful, impassioned woman who is too intelligent for her own good, and is therefore very lethal. I think I may have actually said "Uh oh" out loud when I read it, because I knew that it could mean nothing good. And while it's not a particularly climactic point in the novel, it commences to begin (haha) the steamroll of events that lead to the eventual climax. In a work of literature as short as this one, it could be very difficult to determine the climax and any foreshadowing that may be present; but this passage was as blatantly "in-your-face" as Lady Gaga's meat dress - there was no way you could miss it.
So basically, that's all you need to know about Medea. I did my best not to reveal the ending because I really do recommend this play to everyone who hasn't read it, it's so... juicy. So dramatic and crazy and it was just great, I loved it, and (mainly because it's so short) I'm sure everyone will enjoy it too. I will, however, end by giving this one little clue as to the ending of the play, a phrase I have stated many times in and out of English class: "She was killing eh-body."
That is all.
HEY EBERE :D
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, most women would be watching chick flicks on their couch crying and eating ice cream, however Medea is not like most women. She is an insanely intelligent woman who should not be wronged. Although I think she was a bit too extreme in her revenge, I mean killing her children seriously (-___-), too much; however, I believe she is justified in everything she did to Jason. She gave up everything for this guy and he leaves her for another woman. You are right, in her eyes, it is the end for her, might as well destroy what is left of her life.
It is actually really sad though because this anger she displays means she invested her entire life with Jason. I think this is a lesson to everyone, don’t give up everything for one person because they can leave you. I know that is a very desolate message, but the truth hurts sometimes. In the words of Peyton from One Tree Hill, “People always leave.”