I oppose the motion that "Medea is a 'monster not a woman'" because she is a woman betrayed by her love. I think that although some of her actions may be called erratic, they are overall justifiable. The first “monstrous” actions she takes are: she helps Jason obtain the Golden Fleece, Kills her brother to ensure Jason’s safe departure, and her ultimately betrays her father and homeland. In my eyes these actions were not done out of spite or because she is a “monster” but because she is a woman in love. Love is supposed to be unconditional. She fell head over heels for Jason and was blind sighted to the consequences of such actions.

He—now this I’m assuming—also told her about his troubles in his homeland and again Medea did not want to see her beloved husband suffer. So she did what she thought would ease his pain, make him happy, she had Pelias (the man who overthrew his father) killed by his own daughters. Medea bore Jason’s children and gave herself to him. The love she had for him ran so deep that she abandoned her noble status and went into a foreign land, a stranger, and a woman.

Now after doing all this for him Medea is repaid by Jason, her darling husband by his abandonment and marriage to the princess of the land. Jason is a selfish man, thinks himself above others. I think that Jason to have ‘loved’ her—and here I use the term ‘love’ loosely—but this ‘love only lasted as long as she was helping him but then a better opportunity arose and he threw her away like yesterdays news.

Now, how you feel is you had put that much into a relationship and this was your reward?

Jason does try offering an explanation for his actions (pg 706 beginning line 535) but I think he is simply trying to calm Medea down to save his own and new wife’s skin. He wants one day to be king of this land and he does not truly care about what happens to Medea.

After having this said one may bring up the point that he did offer her help while she was in exile (pg 704 beginning line 448) but again I think this may be for the love of his children not because he actually cares for Medea.

Medea then kills Jason’s new wife and her father, this I feel is for fairly obvious reasons—she is the woman who destroyed Medea’s home and the man who exiled her from his land

And finally she kills her own children. Now this is truly shocking as first and Medea can hardly bring herself to do it, she even second guesses herself (pg 716 lines 1015-1033). But she knows that this is the only true way that she can harm Jason, for he loves no one but himself and his children. She wants him to suffer, fell loss and pain just as severe as she did. Medea very bluntly says “to make you feel pain” (pg724 line1373) when questioned by Jason why she killed their children.

524 words.

pages refer to Nortons World Lit Anthology