Medea was a Tragic Heroine
Medea
was the daughter of a king of Colchis, a land of mystery and magic. According
to Symonde she “unfolded like some poisonous flower, gorgeous to look upon,
with flaunting petals and intoxicating scent, but deadly”. In the play Medea,
she exhibits a deep passion for revenge, but she is not considered to be a
symbol of violence and fury. Euripides has studied human character and showed a
human character may be monstrous and evil, but it is not without human touch.
Medea kills her children to teach Jason a formidable lesson but we cannot
forget that she has been wronged deeply. She has loved too well, but not
wisely. The human feeling is never lost sight of in the characters of
Euripides.
Aristotle
has made it clear that the action of the tragedy should be solemn, grave and
noble. The hero or the heroine towers above other characters as he or she
possesses nobler virtues. But he or she possesses a fatal flaw which brings
about his or her doom. The very purpose of the tragedy is to rouse pity and
fear. Pity is roused by the misfortune of one like ourselves. It is the fatal
flaw or error of judgement which paves the path of the destruction of the
heroine.
There
are certain traits to be considered. The heroes or heroines should be all good,
that is, they should possess ethical goodness, but this goodness does not mean
perfection because a perfectly blameless character does not rouse pity and
fear. Let us consider the character of Medea. Though a sorceress, Medea was a
symbol of maiden purity. Her love for Jason subordinated everything. Her
betrayal her father’s trust, killed her own brother and butchered Pelias to
death. She put Jason at the top of prosperity. Jason was grateful to his wife
once upon a time. But once he came across Glauce he fell in her love deeply and
married her and threw away his first love to the four winds. Jason became
oblivious of the past.
Medea
was infuriated and determined to take revenge for the betrayal and treachery.
She was neither too good, nor too bad. Her cruelty was diabolical and she
nursed the spirit of revenge. She killed the children, Glauce and Creon by some
artful measures. Her only aim was to teach Jason a lesson and subject him to
lifelong desolation and suffering.
The
second trait of the tragic character is that it should be appropriate. A woman
should behave like a woman and a man like a man. Medea was a murderer but she
retained her womanliness. She was essentially a passionate woman. After Jason
was gone, she was torn in a conflict between a mother’s love and the pride of
an injured woman.
The
third feature of the tragic hero or heroine should be that it would be
lifelike. It would appear real. Everything about Medea has a touch of reality.
Her jealousy, her passion, her vindictiveness are convincing out and out. When
disappointed in love that loving woman can sacrifice everything. Medea killed
Glauce and Creon, her own sons to avenge the betrayal of her husband and put
him to lifelong desolation and suffering.
Another
characteristic of the tragic hero or heroine is that it should be consistent.
This type of character should develop according to certain principles.
Aristotle calls this consistency probability and necessity. Medea’s cruelty is
nothing new. She was violent and passionate. She killed her brother and
betrayed her father. Her passion remains unbridled forever. Thus may be called
her fatal flaw. All these make her a tragic character- a tragic heroine.
No comments:
Post a Comment