From
reading the play’s text, particularly the opening dialogues, we are able to
determine the mood and character relations that are to occur within the rest of
the script. This is achieved by providing the audience with the individual perspective
of the introductory character, the Nurse, who explains and highlights certain
aspects of events that have passed prior to the story that is to unfold before
the eyes of the audience. While originally appearing to be a neutral observer
to such prior events, I believe that the choice of words, and specific
statements, such as “I wish that ship, the Argo, had never come to our shores,”
indicate her opinion on the situation, and the use of similar phrases toward
other characters would suggest certain allegiances, by referring to Medea as “woman
who called me friend” and Jason as a “he-demon, a devil.” These opening
statements, along with the term “real, leaking blood,” in my opinion are a
clear sign of the turbulent relationships between particular characters, as
well as a subtle hint at the tragic end to come.
Within
the first scene, we are given an idea of Medea’s state of mind, through the
Nurse’s monologue, portraying her as a “lioness,” creating connotations of a
ferocious creature, protecting her wounded grief. I feel that this describes a
sense of both aggressive tension and vulnerability, which is later enhanced by
Medea’s own actions, the first of which, unleashing a pair of terrible howls,
potentially reminiscent of an injured animal. This idea of her as a ferocious
character is only enhanced, especially when interacting with others during
certain scenes, for example, the first time the audience is introduced to
Jason, a powerful verbal confrontation ensues and an overwhelming sense of
tension is created. In other scenes, involving Kreon and that with Aegeus,
Medea supposedly assumes a less dominant position, yet when those characters
remove themselves from her vicinity, she seems to indicate that, from what I
can gather, she was merely manipulating them in order to achieve her ultimate
goals of revenge, against Jason and Kreon, and to escape to safety, with Aegeus
in Athens. This, alongside her in depth detailed scheming on how to succeed in
her vengeance, I believe portrays an intelligent, strong-willed individual.
This said, however, there are several moments where the character questions
herself over the final act of revenge, which from my viewpoint, creates a
stronger deeper character, indicating a slight glimmer of hope and a shadow of
her former self, before being cast into her current predicament.
One
point, which I would wish to make about Jason, is that it is hard to gain a
full understanding of his character. This is due to the one-sided perspective
at the beginning of the play, which casts him as a villainous, horrid man, with
all opposed to him, but when introduced to him, we are met by what would seem
to be a caring father, who overlooks all the wrongs, and curses, Medea has done
to him previously, seeking to aid his family anyway possible in ensuring they
survive in exile. Due to the depiction of a heinous, immoral individual created
during the introduction, I find it difficult to listen to his reasoning and
take it to be genuine, as he could merely be saying such things to put his own
mind at rest, which is supported by him stating “the gods see I have offered my
services to you.”
There
are several aspects that need to be considered when looking at the play’s
context and the playwright. The first point to consider is the playwright’s
style and era.
Euripides’
play Medea was first performed in 431
BCE during an Athenian tragedy competition (Swift, 2014), but unfortunately he
was never as popular with Greek audiences of the time as other playwrights. It
is stated that this unpopularity was due his portrayal of strong female
characters, intelligent slaves, and his tendency to satirize the Heroes of
Greek mythology (Mastin, 2009). Although it would seem his work wasn’t overly
popular with the audiences of his time, he is often attributed to have
primarily restructured the format of Greek tragedy (Mastin, 2009). Mostly due
to the simplicity of the language used within his plays, by the 4th
Century BCE, they had become the most popular and greatly influenced many works
and genres thereafter, including Roman drama and 17th Century French
Classicists, such as Corneille and Racine (Mastin, 2009).
From
researching Euripides and the story of Medea, there are two aspects of his
plays that are clearly present within Medea
and these are his portrayals of a strong female character, in Medea herself,
and the satirized depiction of Heroes of Greek mythology, with Jason of the
Argonauts. The myth of Jason and Medea is clearly the main influence of
Euripides’ play, however it could also be argued that an event in Greece in 431
BCE aided in his influence. This was the outbreak of the Peloponnesian war,
between the city states of Athens and Sparta (Empires – The Greeks: Series 1,
Episode 3, 2000). This is because Corinth, possibly represented by Kreon in the
play, was a major contributor to the Spartans during this war, with Aegeus
representative of Athens.
For
the transposition of Medea, I have decided to focus on the mid-late
1950s. This is due to the similarities between the social structure, in
particular, the attitudes towards women, of the Greek culture of 431 B.C.E,
when the play made its debut performance. The attitude towards women within the
1950s was primarily around the family structure of that time, with men going
out to work and women remaining at home to provide parental care to the
children and perform general home maintenance, such as cleaning the laundry.
Women of ancient Greece, it would seem, lived a very similar secluded life with
the house being viewed as a “prison without bars.” (Durando, 1997:68) This view
of life for ancient Greek women would seem to be replicated to a certain extent
in the 1950s, which were slightly more lenient, as women would often socialize
where possible, which could be used for the group of individuals that make up
the Chorus.
Bibliography
Durando,
Furio (1997). Greece: Splendours of an Ancient Civilization. London,
Thames & Hudson.
Empires – The Greeks: Series
1, Episode 3 (2000). PBS America, s.d.
Mastin, Luke (2009). Classical Literature.
(Accessed: 20/09/2017)
Rickard, J (2011). Corinth-Corcyra
War, 435-431 BC. Source: http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_corinth_corcyra.html
(Accessed:
22/09/2017)
Swift, Laura (2014). Medea is as relevant today as it was in
Ancient Greece.
(Accessed: 20/09/2017)