Consider Medea as a Revenge Tragedy

Medea as a Revenge Tragedy

The Revenge Tragedy as its name implies is a tragic play in which the tragedy results from the revenge that is taken for some wrong or wrongs. It is either by the person wronged or someone else on his behalf. This kind of tragedy has its beginning in ancient Greece in the tragedies of Sophocles and Euripides. However, in their tragedies there was nothing of that horror element which soon came to be associated with the revenge play.

 

Revenge is an important feature of Medea of Euripides. Jason and Medea are the most important characters in the play. Medea is present from the beginning to the end of the tragedy.

Jason was the undisputed leader and a distinguished hero, but he was a bloodless and colorless figure. He met Medea when he went to capture the Golden Fleece. They were struck by the arrow of the god of love. Everything was going on smoothly and two children were born to them. There came suddenly a bad turn in their life. Jason married Glauce, the daughter of King Creon secretly. This second marriage upset everything for them. It was a treachery and betrayal to Medea. She was thunderstruck and became vehement and violent. She became firmly determined to avenge this betrayal. At any cost she must teach her husband a lesson. She changed her ways and manners and pretended to be very polite, apologetic, but in the core of heart she was still vengeful and furious. The spirit of revenge was nursed very carefully. Medea and her children were asked to leave the land. With an artful.

Measure she killed and Glayce and Creon. Then came the turn for the boys who were killed and this was a deadly blow to Jason. It was too late to save the children. Medea escaped while mocking him and he was left to lifelong desolation and suffering.

This is, in short, the story of love, marriage and betrayal. Jason must pay for treachery, and wrong done to Medea. The story contains all the features of a revenge tragedy. But it is not simply a story of betrayal and revenge. There is something more than that. This is a tale of the conflict between a man and woman. Medea is the mouthpiece of women. It is an eternal conflict and it takes place in the case of any husband and any wife. We find this conflict in Jason and Medea also. Through centuries civilized husbands have loved and deserted uncivilized wives. Such wives have taken this kind of destiny granted for them. They have only cursed their fate and there have been no redressed of it. Medea shows women a path for their emancipation. Here in lies the universal appeal of this play.