1049analysis of prologue for euripides' medea

7/24/2019 1049analysis of Prologue for Euripides' Medea

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ANALYSIS OF EURIPIDES’ THE MEDEA

PROLOGOS (PROLOGUE LINES 1-130)

The prologue is a speech or scene that preceded the Chorus’ entry. From the outset,

the Nurse’s reference to the myth Jason and the Argonauts is designed to fulfil a key

dramatic purpose, since the Athenian audience would have een aware of the myth

since appro!imately "#$$ %C.

&uripides’ first lines '(f only it had never gone to the land of Colchis, the ship the

Argo).* directs the audience to consider the fundamental wrongness of the +ourney,

to steal a sacred o+ect, in this case the olden Fleece, ringing into -uestion the

heroic code. The audience will consider the characters’ failures to live up to key

virtues like sophrosene moderation/. Therefore the audience will oserve the terrile

conse-uences or downfall due to character flaws or hamartia erroneous +udgment/

that is largely ased on huris e!cessive pride/.

&ven though the Nurse’s lament is sincere, the playwright &uripides reinforces the

impossiility of undoing the past. Therefore he is commenting that a greater level of

responsiility for all citi0ens, including leaders, is needed to reflect on their actions,

rather than denying responsiility or accountaility. The tragedy of 12edea’ imparts a

message that action premeditated or not, ears conse-uences that must e

recognised the value3ethos of anagnorisis/ and endured.

4nfortunately Jason and possily 2edea don’t develop anagnorisis 5 67869:;<;=, or ἀ

the moment when a character makes a critical discovery. Anagnorisis originally

meant recognition in its reek conte!t, not only of a person ut also of what that

person stood for. Anagnorisis was the hero’s sudden awareness of a real situation,

the realisation of things as they stood, and finally, the hero>s insight into a

relationship with an often antagonistic character. This failure is most evident in Jason

due to his huristic nature, reflecting the roader patriarchal values, attitudes and

practices of the time.

The audience are aware of the present calamity, where, as e!iles in a foreign land,

Jason re+ects 2edea, leaving his wife for lauce, daughter of Creon who was the

?ing of Corinth.



The Nurse’s prologue identifies Jason’s motivation for his etrayal is his political

desire to succeed Creon as ?ing of Corinth, y marrying lauce. Jason’s

aandonment precipitates disastrous results for those connected to him, that he

never acknowledges. Therefore his deceptive rationalisations used to +ustify his

actions and avoid conse-uences, will e +u!taposed with 2edea whose passions will

override responsiilities that ind her, especially to her children. Crucially, &uripides

estalishes 2edea and Jason as lacking accountaility.

2edea’s emotional wounds and psychological mindset are evident from the outset,

even though she is offstage in the prologue. @uicidal tendencies will e replaced y

curses. %y ominously foreshadowing her 'rage*, lessons regarding moderation3

sophrosene3 living life 'on e-ual terms* is not possile for those governed y

fearsome impulses. 2edea, who was 'transfi!ed y desire for Jason* reinforces the

dangers of e!cess, especially as admits that 'anger* will e the 'master* that will

govern her actions and thinking. These are some of the inconvenient truths revealed

y &uripides in the prologue.

The myth, known y the audience, identified that Jason’s divine protector was the

goddess era, who persuaded the goddess Aphrodite to gain the assistance of &ros

cupid/ to make 2edea fall in love with Jason. (n doing so, the myth outlines how

with 2edea’s magical powers as a sorceress helped Jason accomplish the

e!traordinary tasks, including stealing the olden Fleece from 2edea’s own father

Aetes. 2edea’s proviso in helping Jason accomplish his feat was that Jason agreed

to marry 2edea, which he did. This was the BAT that ound Jason to 2edea, a

deal that was roken, leading to the tragedy.

The Nurse’s prologue references the myth, yet the audience would have een aware

that 2edea etrayed her father, and the people of Colchis. (n order to slow Aetes

down in his pursuit of Jason and 2edea, she killed and dismemered the ody of her

rother Apsyrtus. 4nlike 2edea’s action driven y her passion for Jason, her father

prioritised his religious oligations in picking up the pieces of his son. Aetes’ ond is

to the gods and to his son, ensuring his urial and acceptance into ades the

underworld/. Therefore there is a clear contrast etween the two regarding their

respective responses to their emotions3 passions.



Aetes’ anger and grief would have een palpale, considering his dual loss. Firstly,

the removal of the olden Fleece y Jason and 2edea was predicted to result in the

implosion of her father’s kingdom. @econdly, the pain of his son’s horrific death at the

hands of 2edea would e compounded considering Aetes’ patrilineal line would e

ended y his son’s murder. 2edea will inflict a similar loss on Jason when she kills

her sons.

Furthermore, as a sorceress, 2edea manipulated elia’s daughters, who were

Jason’s nieces, to kill their father in the hope of magically returning him to his

youthful state. 2edea’s actions were driven y her loyalty, love, passion for Jason,

who was the rightful heir to the throne of (olcus. After their e!ile, the myth referenced

that 2edea and Jason were accepted y Corinth, lived there for "$ years, and had D

sons. 2edea was initially 'welcomed* in Corinth, a mercantile city3 polis whose

citi0ens were seen as progressive and accepting of foreigners in their midst. The

'warm welcome* was part of the deep5seated principle in ancient reek culture to

offer welcome and hospitality to strangers. This is deeply ironic considering the

destructive conse-uences Jason and 2edea left ehind into Colchis and (olcus, and

will leave ehind in Corinth.

The Nurse reflects on a very patriarchal society, where the position of women was to

'please her husand in all she does*, in order to keep her 'marriage intact* reflecting

that he could 'count on complete support from his wife*. &uripides uses the play to

create contemporary discussions in the Theatre of Eionysus where the audience

was made up of Athenian male citi0ens. omen in ancient Athenian3reek society

were under the authority of a man a ?GH(B@/. %efore marriage, the authority was

her father whom 2edea etrayed and left to e with Jason/, and once married, the

authority transferred to the husand Jason who etrayed 2edea/. (n ancient

reece, the usual practice was to give a ride price hédnon δνον ἕ //. Eowries

pherné φερνή// were e!changed y the later classical period Ith century %.C./. A

man could divorce his wife y returning her dowry to her father, yet the stigma would

have attached.

Get, 2edea challenged 3 threatened these cultural norms since she married Jason

without permission, and without Jason receiving a dowry. Jason would also e aware

that 2edea was powerless considering she etrayed her father. The only



possessions 2edea 1inherited’ as a form of dowry would have een the gown and

coronet, possily for her own wedding, given y her descendant, her grandfather the

sun god elios that will help her escape. The irony is that these gifts, rather than

eing an act of good faith, will e used y 2edea as instruments to kill lauce and

Creon.

As a result of Jason’s infidelity 'everything has turned to hatred* since 2edea has

een re+ected y him and she doesn’t have the refuge of her former home in Colchis,

and therefore no authority to legally fight for her. (n addition, 2edea has een

'dishonoured* and wronged, yet is powerless to stop Jason. As a wife 2edea was

effectively Jason’s possession and therefore all she had are 'his oaths). thatK

pledged his heart.*

&uripides is referencing the importance of 'oaths* in the ancient world as they were

divinely protected y Leus king of the gods/. Jason has aused the gods’ divinity in

reaking his oath to 2edea, and therefore the Nurse’s sympathy is eing transferred

to the audience for D reasons. Firstly, for 2edea, she is seen as the aandoned wife

in a foreign city. @econdly, Jason’s cowardice or 'criminal ehaviour* in neglecting

his promises3 oath3 det is compounded considering all she has done in giving irth

and raising his two sons, helping save Jason’s life, providing assistance in fulfilling

the e!traordinary heroic tasks in taking the olden Fleece, and manipulating Jason’s

nieces to kill his tyrannical uncle elias who had usurped Jason’s throne.

Crucially, &uripides is using the Nurse to outline or register the devastating effects

that Jason’s etrayal has had on 2edea’s psyche, whose intense devotion has now

transformed into self5destructive ehaviour. &uripides’ vivid description reflects that

2edea is almost catatonic in her grief. The imagery that a 'rock wouldK pay more

attention*, that 'she)remained where she lies*, 'not raising an eye*, where 'thought

of food is dismissed*, where she collapsed in 'anguish*, and the imagery of her

'melting each passing hour with tears* reinforces 2edea’s plight as a woman

etrayed, alone and alienated. &ven the Nurse’s ominous reference to 2edea’s

'hate* for 'her children* that she 'takes no pleasure in seeing* draws the audience’s

attention to the inevitale and horrific act of filicide, where her innocent sons will

suffer as they are a reminder to her of Jason and his etrayal.



(nterestingly, the Nurse’s reference to 2edea’s 'itter words* regarding her 'dear*

Father, elicits sympathy that she has lost everything y her association with Jason.

Get the audience’s awareness of the myth is manipulated. The Nurse references

2edea’s own actions in etraying her father, yet omits the dismemerment of her

rother.

The Nurse is fully aware of 2edea’s potential for vengeance and rutality as a result

of what 'misfortune has taught* her. Conse-uently, the audience’s attention is on

2edea even though she is offstage. %y craving for the impossile, that the Argo

never arrived in Colchis, the Nurse highlights that denial of events maye a human

reaction to difficulties and pain, yet it is futile. Therefore &uripides is reinforcing that

our response to these difficulties will reflect whether we take responsiility for our

actions. 2edea’s sacrifices and loss as a result of her fateful meeting with Jason will

reflect how she will freely respond to the 'misery*.

The myth has already estalished a horrifying portrayal of what 2edea is capale of,

and the Nurse’s fear that she 'may hatch some unheard of scheme* reinforces her

capacity to form and carry out her dreadful purpose. Conse-uently, the prominent

mood is one of leakness as we listen to the Nurse, who has known 2edea all her

life, and therefore her assessment that she is 'no ordinary woman* downplays her

infamy at what she’s done prior to arriving in Corinth. &uripides is ale to comment

on the dangers and inevitaility of tragedy due to e!treme emotions or passion,

whether it is intense love3 se!ual passion, that can e flipped to intense hatred.

(n addition, 2edea is 'no ordinary woman* as her infamy is magnified y her

reputation as a sorceress, and her direct relationship with the gods as a grand5

daughter of the sun god elios and the niece of the enchantress Circe. The Nurse is

fully aware of 2edea’s faults, ut encourages the audience to pity her, despite her

fearful reputation. &ven so, the view that there are 'no easy victories* against her

downplays her fearful reputation considering what she is willing to do to memers of

her own family, let alone against those she perceives as an 'enemy*.

(n light of this, the nurse’s sympathy for 2edea is magnified considering that her

e!ile3 anishment3 ostracism from her homes in Colchis, (olcus and later Corinth,

was a feared penalty, that for some was worse than death. &ven so, it will e the



Nurse’s compassion and maternal instinct for 'the innocentK children* that is

diametrically opposed to the antipathetic treatment y their own parents.

They may not speak, ut the audience’s focus is on them. As innocent children, they

may not e aware of their 'mother’s troules* or their father’s thoughtlessness and

cowardice in not protecting them from anishment. &uripides is ale to powerfully,

ironically and dramatically reflect that even if 'grief knows no place in a child’s mind*,

their innocence is futile in protecting them from 2edea’s scheme.

The Tutor, like the Nurse is a slave. The nurse’s 'mutterings* are a way to unurden

her of agitation since 2edea’s house is one of great tension and dysfunction. Get

these slaves, who lack status3 standing in the community reflect an issue prominent

for Athenian society. (n MI" %C, D$ years efore 2edea was performed, the

strategon3 general3 revered leader ericles introduced a law that Athenians could

only e full citi0ens if they could prove that oth parents were Athenian orn citi0ens.

Therefore, the slaves like the Nurse and Tutor, have remained loyal, ehaved

decently and suffered the conse-uences of 2edea’s actions since they will e

anished with her. Get in spite of eing 'good slaves* whose 'hearts share pain* they

are deprived of the privileges of citi0enship. &uripides uses these 'good slaves* to

highlight two further issues. Firstly, they are used to directly contrast their decent

ehaviour with Jason’s arrogance and thoughtlessness, traits that are far from those

e!pected of a heroic figure. @econdly, &uripides is commenting on the Athenian

policy, y highlighting that Jason’s decision to marry lauce is a political and

personal decision that his lineage can only e e!tended if his children’s mother is

also a reek citi0en. Therefore &uripides is reinforcing the disparity for those not

entitled to citi0enship. e is -uestioning how civilised a democracy Athens is. Jason

is pragmatic in re+ecting his children y not protecting them from anishment.

&uripides is also condemning political leaders like Creon have a callous streak in

rationalising the ease at which they can 'drive out* Jason and 2edea’s children as a

means to demonstrate love for his own child.

The Nurse and Tutor have the aility to unravel causes that have led to a once loving

relationship that is now irreparaly damaged. (n contrast, the hero of the Argonauts

is now seen as self5serving. &ven so, there is hope that Jason’s '-uarrel* with 2edea

will not e transferred to the children. The instinctive response of any parent is to



protect their children. Culturally, great emphasis was placed on the family household.

As the father, head of the household and family, oikos/ Jason would have een

owed total oedience, and the children e!pected to defend their father’s honour and

reputation. Crucially it was a matter of honour that the oikos should not die out, since

it was through his sons that a man perpetuated his oikos or household. Therefore

2edea’s later motivation in killing her children was designed to ensure that Jason

was a roken man whose legacy would cease with his sons’ deaths. To magnify the

loss, and totally reak Jason for his 'criminal ehaviour* in reaking his oath, 2edea

ensures that his new wife also dies without providing the possiility for an heir or the

estalishment of a new oikos or household. The audience will look at Jason in a less

than complimentary way considering his neglect of his sons. This is in stark contrast

to the Nurse who naively elieves in his decency to do the morally right thing y his

own flesh and lood. Get he will etray those closest to him, firstly, to spite 2edea

and secondly, to protect his own opportunity to shore up his potential political power

y marrying the ?ing of Corinth’s daughter. This reflects a level of calculation that the

cynical Tutor is ale to convey in all her hard5headiness, that Jason’s 'old times of

affection give way to new*. Tragically, Jason’s children are also olivious to their own

father’s scheme that completely disempowers them. is love for his sons ecomes

-uestioned as he deserts them.

Jason’s weakness is evident, preoccupied y his 'new love*, yet the audience is

aware how fickle Jason and 1love’ can e, especially if the decision to shift his love

from 2edea to lauce is politically motivated and e!pedient. (t is also determined y

the two men Jason and Creon/. &uripides is ale to make telling comments aout

the ease at which loyalty, oaths and love can e shifted or sacrificed, even a father’s

love for his sons is no longer sacrosanct, and later this sacrifice is evident in

2edea’s actions and motives. Bur focus and pity is directed on the 'young ones* still

innocently playing efore the audience’s eyes, olivious to how their father 'treats*

them let alone how they will e 'treated* y 2edea. The children are victims who will

e etrayed y those 'traitorsK* nearest and dearest to them. The tutor therefore

offers a leak commentary on mankind, where self5interest or 'love* of self prevails

aove all other forms, even family.

&uripides reinforces the danger of etrayal within family and society, since etrayal isassociated with roken trust, loss of self5worth, hatred, desire for revenge can prove



catastrophic. The playwright has estalished the psychological and emotional

repercussions of their marriage reakup. Get, as the Nurse pronounces, she is aware

that she lacks social standing in this community, ut can do nothing ut try and

protect 2edea’s sons from her 'depression* where dark mood con+ures up

animalistic imagery where she glares at the children 'like a ull*. No longer is the

hero of the mythic stories compared to powerful animals, ut it’s now 2edea who is

characterised as someone to e feared.

(f she is willing to do 'something awful* to her own children, then &uripides is

commenting on the comple! -uestion of how the principle of +ustice, personified y

the goddesses Themis representing law , and Eike, representing punishment and

vengeance, can function in society . Crucially divine +ustice was incurred for violating

sacred onds of duty or oaths. Therefore, retriution can e inflicted, let alone

+ustified. Conse-uently, the Nurse’s initial view of 2edea as 'no ordinary woman* is

ominously conveyed where her rage will strike those perceived as enemies, let alone

friends or family like her sons whom she loved, a seemingly similar loyalty she

shared with her rother whom she rutally killed in Colchis. In the ancient Gree

world! a principle that e"isted was to fulfil one#s duty to help one#s loyal friends$

conversely it was one#s duty to harm one#s enemies% Conse-uently 2edea’s honourhad een hurt y Jason’s reach of his oath. Jason easily shifts from one who loved

2edea, and she loved him, reflected y her actions since she was 'transfi!ed* y

him. Now his etrayal has transformed him into an enemy who will feel 'the force of

her thunderolt*, reflecting imagery of her power and divinity.

The Nurse focuses on 2edea’s osession to dispense +ustice divine and violent

+ustice, rather than allow Jason to go unpunished. is roken oath to her was y

implication sworn to the gods, therefore deserving of divine punishment. Jason

insults the gods, who through 2edea helped Jason achieve his heroic feats in taking

the mythical olden Fleece. 2edea’s anger won’t 'die down*. @he sees Jason’s

reach as unpardonale since the oath’s sacredness has een routinely dismissed

and treated with mockery. Jason etrayed the sacred oath, even though 2edea

made sustantial sacrifices. @he killed her rother, etrayed her father, +oined Jason

in e!ile, and suffered the indignity of eing treated as a second class citi0en, as a

ararian.



&uripides highly theatrical introduction of 2edea’s disemodied voice,* from the

inside*, is very ominous and understandale considering her grief suffered at the

hands of Jason’s etrayal. 2edea’s view of herself as 'wretched*, seeking 'pity for

my sufferings* and a desire that she 'could die* terrifies oth Nurse and audience.

@he is violently e!pressive aout her pain and the moral, personal and sacred

in+uries she has suffered at the hands of Jason. Crucially, the audience will discover

2edea’s 'passion* is the 'master of my reason*. &ven though her state implies

powerlessness, the Nurse reinforces that from her e!periences 2edea’s e!cessive

passions reinforce her aility to e calculating, controlled and capale of directing

her passionate energy to inflict revenge on those she perceives as having wronged

her.

2edea’s 'trouled heart* will erupt into the loss of self5control and a danger where

thoughts and ehaviour ecome engulfed and e!cessive. &uripides’ striking imagery

of 'clouds* gathering and the 'urst in storm* is ominous. Tragically, 2edea’s actions

will e e!cessive and destructive, and the audience is ale to hear and deeply

affected y her tortured indignation and rutal threats. &ven though 2edea

e!presses her laments from 'inside the house*, the audience’s anguish is intensified

as they hear the repetition of 'sufferings*. The audience’s pity is now shifted to'terrile fear*, as they listen to her fierce and intractale nature regarding her

'grudge*.

Therefore a key cultural trait valued in citi0ens was the idea of sophrosene

<O:P<Q6R/ 5an ideal of e!cellence of character and soundness of mind, which

when comined in one well5alanced individual leads to other -ualities, such as

temperance, prudence, self5control or moderation. 2edea is seen y the Nurse at

the antithesis of sophrosene. 2edea is seen to possess a 'savage temperament*

and an 'unforgiving nature*. Therefore &uripides is didactically offering a warning

against how emotions, like fear and anger are driven y passion that will 'grow*. The

lesson for the audience was to live a life of moderation, on 'e-ual terms*. (n doing

so, &uripides was reinforcing that secure and modest circumstances are etter ale

to provide solutions for comple! prolems and situations.

2orally &uripides is emphasi0ing how those of high social and political standing,

eing of 'royal lood* could prove dangerous due to their huristic ehaviour that is,



ehaving with e!cessive pride. This was crucial, considering the fledgling democracy

in Athens, since the threat of tyranny could engulf and destroy any 'ouse*, whether

it is a family’s house, or y roader implication, any society3 polis. This warning was

more relevant considering the war against @parta that would start a few months after

12edea’ was performed, would engulf and destroy the Athenian society in a war that

lasted for DS years.

&uripides references the dangers of e!cessive power and 4%H(@, particularly for

those whose commands are 'seldom overruled*. Therefore the audience will oserve

how Jason, Aegeus and Creon are used as a warning against the 'e!cess* that

'pays him ack with greater ruin*. Character flaws culminate in tragedies, y

'earningK heaven’s anger*. Therefore the lesson to the audience is clear5moderation

is wise and safe whilst e!cess in going eyond what is one’s natural and rightful

place, incurs the wrath of the gods. 4ltimately it is the Nurse, despite her status as a

slave, that is astute and her perspective grasps that the 'hait of living on e-ual

terms* is more prudent.

1049analysis of prologue for euripides' medea

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