Kiara Greenaway
Professor Peer
Essay Draft

Medea is more than a tragedy about a disgruntled wife who killed her children after being devastated by her husbands disloyalty. Medea is about the oppressive nature of patriarchy, the fragility of the human heart, and the deconstruction of societies views on women. Medea’s struggle with being crushed under the weight of patriarchy is still very relevant in our current society. Many people would write Medea off as being an insane and vengeful monster who sacrificed her kids for her own selfish gain, which is valid to an extent, but beside the heinous nature of her crimes, her actions negate societal norms.
Medea the play was first written and produced in 431 B.C. During this time, the role of women in Greek society was strikingly similar to those of modern times. Women were supposed to be seen and not heard. They were seen as sex objects; expected to just bear children, tend to the needs of the home, play maid to their husbands and be powerless. Medea even states that, “Of all the living creatures with a soul and mind, we women are the most pathetic.” Though it may sound harsh, it’s the truth. We make ourselves the most viable women on the market, we make ourselves smaller to attract a husband because that’s the only thing we can possibly imagine to be is a wife, we turn a blind eye to our husbands infidelity, we have children we don’t want, we betray our own flesh and blood in the name of what we think to be love and all the while, the person we sacrificed so much for, cheats on us. She continues on to say that, “it’s best to die.” Meaning that a woman is better off dead than being trapped in a fruitless marriage where her presence isn’t revered, her love isn’t reciprocated and her sacrifices go unnoticed. “I killed the dragon too: the sleepless one, who kept the Golden Fleece enfolded in his convoluted coils; I was your light, the beacon of your safety. For my part, I betrayed my home, my father and went with you to Pelion’s slopes,” says Medea. It takes a strong person to venture to the ends of the Earth and through the depths of hell all in the name of love and Medea did just that. Medea’s character wasn’t meant to be the cookie cutter outline of a woman; when Jason cheated on her and broke their sacred vows, she was downtrodden and full of despair, but even in her most vulnerable state, she was able to garner strength to device a sinister plan to seek revenge on Jason. She had her time to mourn the death of their relationship, but she didn’t fall into despair. The killing of her kids just further chipped away at the image society had of women during the time this tragedy was written and now. Not all women are meant or want to be mothers; not all women have an innate emotional connection with their children. Jason was more than ready to banish his kids, so what makes Medea killing their kids any different?