Jason Brings His Own Downfall in Medea, a play by...

In Medea, a play by Euripides, Jason possesses many traits that lead to his downfall. After Medea assists Jason in his quest to get the Golden Fleece, killing her brother and disgracing her father and her native land in the process, Jason finds a new bride despite swearing an oath of fidelity to Medea. Medea is devastated when she finds out that Jason left her for another woman after two children and now wants to banish her. Medea plots revenge on Jason after he gives her one day to leave. Medea later acts peculiarly as a subservient woman to Jason who is oblivious to the evil that will be unleashed and lets the children remain in Corinth. The children later deliver a poisoned gown to Jason’s new bride that also kills the King of Corinth.†¦show more content†¦The major trait that leads to Jason’s downfall is his overwhelming pride. Medea knows she can use his ego against him and says, â€Å"I have reproached myself. ‘Fool’, I said, ‘why am I so mad?’† (p.53). Medea toys with Jason’s need to be above others and always right. Jason doesn’t even think twice about Medea’s sudden change to a servile attitude and accepts how her â€Å"mind has turned to better reasoning† (p.54). The arrogance of Jason makes him blind to what is happening around him. Medea is obviously manipulating this weakness to work to her just like how everything works for her: the children work to kill the bride and the deaths work to exact revenge upon Jason. Jason’s apathy is a trait that enrages Medea. Jason thinks that he is always helping Medea for nothing in return when he tells her, â€Å"I can prove you have certainly got from me more than you gave.† (p.42). Jason could never have captured the Golden Fleece if it was not for Medea’s valuable assistance and he doesn’t give her credit for it. The only thing he gave Medea was an oath of fidelity, which meant nothing to him because he breaks it after two children. Jason just decides to leave Medea for a new bride and banish Medea after all that she has done for Jason such as killing her brother and disgracing her father. Those insensitive words from Jason deeply hurt Medea, who has sacrificed so much forShow MoreRelatedThe Tragic Hero Of Euripides Medea 1080 Words   |  5 PagesTragic Hero in Euripides’ Medea Aristotle cites that, A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall. Consistent to Aristotle’s characteristics of a tragic hero, the tragic hero must fit the requirements of being noble and employed in a high standing position of society. There should be a tragic flaw that ultimately leads to his downfall, and those reading the play must feel pity for this character as he goes through necessary changes as a result of his flaw. AristotleRead MoreThe Concept of the Tragic Hero: an Analysis of Jason and Medea in Euripides Medea1442 Words   |  6 PagesIn ‘Medea’, Euripides shows Medea in a new light, as a scorned woman that the audience sympathises with to a certain extent, but also views as a monster due to her act of killing her own children. The protagonist of a tragedy, known as the Tragic Hero is supposed to have certain characteristics which cause the audience to sympathise with them and get emotionally involved with the plot. The two main characters, Medea and Jason, each have certain qualities of the Tragic Hero, but neither has them allRead MoreThe Hubris In Oedipus Rex And Medea1027 Words   |  5 Pagesarrogance. Authors utilize hubris to showcase a characters downfall. Hubris has a huge part in plays like â€Å"Oedipus Rex† and â€Å"Medea†. The Hubris in Oedipus Rex and Medea, which leads to the eventual downfall of the characters and teaches the readers a valuable lesson by showcasing Jason’s ego and pride, Medea’s anger and pride, and Oedipus Rex’s arrogance and stubbornness. Jason’s ego and pride were showcased when he betrayed his wife, Medea and went off to marry another woman who was the princessRead MoreThe Concept of the Tragic Hero: an Analysis of Jason and Medea in Euripides’ Medea’1429 Words   |  6 PagesIn ‘Medea’, Euripides shows Medea in a new light, as a scorned woman that the audience sympathises with to a certain extent, but also views as a monster due to her act of killing her own children. The protagonist of a tragedy, known as the Tragic Hero is supposed to have certain characteristics which cause the audience to sympathise with them and get emotionally involved with the plot. The two main characters, Medea and Jason, each have certain qualities of the Tragic Hero, but neither has them allRead MoreMedea: Jasons Demise1405 Words   |  6 Pagesrole and Significance of Hubris in the fall of Jason As is archetypal to all Greek tragedies, ‘Medea’ by Euripides chronicles the downfall of a noble hero, Jason, as a result of a combination of factors like fate, hubris and the will of the gods. In ‘Medea’, the hubris of the main character, Jason, was his pride. This drove him to betray his wife Medea’s trust and defy moral parameters set by the gods. Euripides employed the hubris of Jason and his act of disobedience towards the gods as a reflectionRead MoreThe Tragedy Of Medea By Sophocles1611 Words   |  7 Pagesthe many tragedies that Euripides provides us with, I chose the tragedy of Medea to further analyze, and present a strong argument for why I think Aristotle would find Medea a top-notch tragedy. According to Aristotle, a top-notch tragedy consists of six main elements, a strong plot, storyline, style, morals, ideas, staging and music, with the most important of these six being that of the plot. I strongly feel that in terms of what entails a quality tragedy, Euripides Medea meets a large majorityRead More Medea Essay1762 Words   |  8 Pages Title of Work: Medea Country/Culture: Greek Literary Period: Classical Type of Literature (genre): Drama/Tragedy Author: Euripides Authorial information: Euripides was born in 484 BC and took up drama at the young age of 25. At most drama competitions, however his plays came in last place until he was about 45 or 50 years old. In his entire life, he wrote 92 plays of which only five received first place awards at competition. Euripides despised women. He had been married twice to unfaithfulRead MoreEuripides Manipulation Of The Myth1133 Words   |  5 Pagesprime example, Athenian playwright Euripides deviated tremendously from the typical standards of Greek tragedies in his famous work Medea. Albeit the characterization was majorly based off of an existing Greek myth, Euripides’s manipulation of the protagonist and storyline created a drama encompassed by aberration and eccentricity far more peculiar than that of the established legend. However, Euripides used his audience’s developed knowledge of Greek mythology to his advantage and was still able toRead MoreAnalysis Of Medea By Euripides1360 Words   |  6 Pages Medea, A play written by Euripides. The play is set in Corinth, a Greek city. The play consists of much conflict. Jason, Medea’s husband who has abandoned her and her two sons, in hopes of achieving a higher social status and advancing his station. His idea was to marry Glauce, which happened to be the daughter of Creon. Creon, was the king of Corinth, the city where they were residing. In short words, Jason chose to advance his ambitions rather than stay loyal to his family. His actions destroyRead More Abuse of Power Reflected in the Politics and Drama of Ancient Greece2047 Words   |  9 Pagestragedians plays illustrate this idea. In Aeschyluss Agamemnon, the title character is a returning king who behaves arrogantly and thoughtlessly. He is murdered by his wife and his kingdom falls apart. Sophocless character Oedipus ends up killing his father, losing his kingdom and his wife and mother, and becoming a blind, wandering outcast for the rest of his life. Jason in Euripi dess Medea deserts his family for a new marriage which he hopes will further his station, but his old wife kills his new