The tale of “Medea” begins directly after Jason leaves Medea for the Corinth princess. It starts off with the Nurse summarizing what has happened in Medea’s life after she had met Jason. According to the nurse, Medea has lost everything because of her love for Jason only to be betrayed by him (lines 11-19).
From the very beginning of the epic, it seems as if Medea is the victim of the story since she’s the one who lost everything. However, one might even say that the victim is actually Jason rather than Medea. Although a frequently asked question, who exactly is the victim in the epic?
In Medea’s case, she saved Jason life, aided him in the numerous impossible tasks that he had to complete, helped him steal the Golden Fleece, killed his uncle for him, and even killed her own brother because of him (481-494). It seems as if she made the ultimate sacrifice. It makes one wonder if Jason truly loved Medea or just used her to succeed in his tasks.
On the contrary, Jason seems to be in a difficult position as well. He claims that betraying her and marrying the Corinth princess was for the sake of the family (365-374). He states “my motive was for the best; so we’d live well and not be poor” (375-376). However, if he really did it for the family, why didn’t he discuss it with Medea first, before going about the plan? It seems like an excuse that he thought of in hopes to make peace with Medea.
This epic can easily be related to modern day marriages and relationships. A couple face obstacles that they aren’t able to overcome together which leads to disagreements and arguments. When one party has had enough of each other, he/she decides to leave the other. In many cases, both parties are at fault and both have places where they could’ve acted differently. Medea and Jason are no different. They both are fault for what has happened. Jason doesn’t love Medea enough, but Medea herself is too aggressive and violent. Things could’ve went down a different path had they both tried a little more. But like present day, when situations get to a certain point, neither party wants to any anymore.
I believe that this is a very good interpretation of the text, and an excellent question to raise. I remember something in the Athenian drama section saying that the humor and premises of some of the stories could still be used today, and I think this is one of them. I do see the relationship between Media and Jason as something which can translate well to modern times. Jason thinks he is making a spot decision which will help his family in the long run and doesn’t consult his wife and then it ends in a fight. In fact we probably have seen something very similar between sitcoms and movies.
The summary in the beginning really helped me out to understand the text. I really didn’t understand what you meant by the Jason v. Medea victim thing till I read further on in the text. I agree with your conclusion that both parties are to blame. However I don’t believe the issue is that Jason doesn’t love Medea as much. His problem is total disregard for other peoples feelings. I think Medea’s violence is her downfall is many ways as well.