"Medea in Euripides’s play comes closest to the demand for an equivalence of that feminine self to the male…A woman who insists on the binding nature of a compact she made on her own with a man, a woman who defends her right to honor and self-esteem in terms suspiciously resembling those of the male heroic code, and finally a woman who would reverse the cultural flow in founding a new genre of poetry that celebrates the exploits of women rather than those of men...."
Froma Zeitlin, Playing the Other: Gender and Society in Classical Greek Literature, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995 (346).
Froma Zeitlin, Playing the Other: Gender and Society in Classical Greek Literature, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995 (346).
Summary
• Jason has abandoned Medea and the two children, remarrying with Glauce, the daughter of Creon
• Creon banishes Medea and her children from the city of Corinth
• Medea is granted one day before her exile, or she shall be put to death
• Jason explains his intention to remarry is for everyone’s good
• Jason offers tokens to help and Medea refuses
• Argues, king of Athens, passes the city of Corinth and offers protection to Medea in his city in exchange for the curing of sterility
• Medea schemes to revenge which includes killing her two children to make Jason suffer
• Medea sends the nurse to fetch Jason
• Medea pretends to confess her earlier behaviors, and Jason forgives her
• Medea sends “gifts” in her children’s hands to Glauce, which is meant to convince Glauce to persuade her father to let the children stay in Corinth
• The poisoned coronet and dress sent by Medea causes Glauce’s death
• Creon embracing his daughter’s corpse leads to his death
• A messenger recounts the details of Glauce and Creon’s deaths
• Medea kills her children regardless of the protest of the chorus
• Jason arrives at the house, and is left cursing and bemoans his fate
• Medea flees in a chariot drawn by dragons with the dead bodies of her children