The story of Medea is one of my favorites that we read in class. Tale of a woman whose world comes to pieces when the man she has done everything for leaves her for a princess. Not only that but she is to be exiled from the country she lives in with her two children. Reading other stories in class I defiantly expected her to fall apart into pieces, due to time frame and how women are usually portrayed. Sadly this story has a sick twist, which is why its still one of my favorites.
Medea is granted one day before she has to leave in exile and she takes that time to seek revenge. A plan of vengeance, which not only includes the murder of the princess but her children as well. Although the loss of her children would be a heavy pain to her, she seems to be more satisfied with the fact that Jason would suffer the most.
One thing that I liked about this story was I couldn’t tell if Medea was a hero, or a villain. In the beginning of the story one can sympathize with her. She seeks revenge, which is quite understandable considering the amount of pain she is in because of her husbands betrayal. However, she ends up taking the life of her two innocent children in the process. However when reading and even seeing it in my school you have no choice but to admire her. She wont compromise herself, which gives her, I think a trait of a hero. So one might say that she is a tragic hero. There is a balance of punishment and crime when it comes to her character. Medea own destruction of loosing her children is for the idea that the one who betrayed her would suffer the most, shows that a tragic hero would be the title that defines her the most.
