The Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, is an oil painting created in 1907 by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. During the time period in which Picasso painted this piece, he was experimenting with a more radical style called Cubism and Primitivism. In this piece, Picasso portrays 5 female prostitutes in a disconcerting manner that emphasizes their unconventional feminism. The unconventional feminism is said to be portrayed in the anti-conservative stances and the masculine masks. The stances portrayed by the woman in the painting exposed them in a way that was  uncommon to the time period and was unique to the works of few artists to the time (Similar to Matisse).

I picked this piece because it can best be related to that of Medea. In this painting, woman are portrayed in a manner that is unconventional for its time period. Women are openly exposed in this piece and have open stances. The women prostitutes appear menacing  with angular and disjointed body shapes. These characteristics connote a sense of feminism that just wasn’t common during the 20th century. Women during this time period were mostly viewed as conservative.  In relation to Medea, she expresses a great deal of feminism that was unique to that individual piece. In Medea, she openly expresses her worth and proves it to men who degrade her feministic views. Even though the relation to the two isn’t precise, they both connote similar themes through a media outlet. The only difference between the two is that Picasso’s piece leaves a more open interpretation .

In Euripides’ play, “Medea,” the main protagonist and tragic hero is the foreigner Medea. In the early sequences of the play we see Medea as a scorned woman who has no fight left in her, as she seeks not only for her own death but the death of her children. As the play progresses, Medea adapts and changes her character many times and overall we see the evolution of her character to an almost goddess level.

In the beginning scenes of the play, Medea’s identity as a weak woman is emphasized through her reluctant use of action to correct her misfortunes.While Medea’s husband has remarried and abandoned his family in exchange for a better life among royalty, Medea cowers in her home moaning of her loss.  The nurse that begins the play says, “She wont touch food; surrendering to pain, she melts away her days in tears” (Page 787 Lines 29-31). We not only learn that she is portrayed as a weak woman but we also learn that it is of no fault of her own. As the play moves on and more characters are thrown into the mix, we see the transformation of Medea’s character into a powerful woman. The various levels of power that we see Medea at is very important because it is a unique topic that Euripides challenges in his time. In Greek culture around this time, society had a view of woman that portrayed them as weak and unable to be equal to men. Yet in this case, Euripides tackles society view of woman and in return creates a woman in this play that not only is wronged by a man but rises to the occasion and creates justice for herself. Medea in this play serves as the character that challenges society views on woman and misogyny.

Throughout the first 680 lines of Medea we get a large sense of inequality that exists within Greek society. Not only does it exist but it is acknowledged by woman themselves. Medea says, Of all living creatures with a soul and mind, we woman are the most pathetic” (Page 792 Lines 231-232). Medea takes a big leap with statement as she is left with choices to make to correct her own misfortune and overcome the hegemony set up by Greek society. This leaves us with many questions :

1.) Does Medea’s love for her children outweigh the hatred she has for her husband?
2.) How does Medea’s actions benefit the cause for woman equality or hurt it?
3.) Does Medea have just cause for her plan to murder?