Medea Notes

Pages 39-41

-Play opens several years after the events of “Jason and the Golden Fleece”

-Opens in front of Medea/Jason house in Corinth

-Women and foreigners are both looked down on in society

-Jason has left Medea to marry the King’s daughter

-Medea and Jason have two young children

-Medea and the children are to be banished from Corinth

-the nurse fears Medea may hurt the children

-the nurse says it is better to live a humble life with few things than to live a rich life and risk losing it.

-Medea calls on the gods to help her get justice. (Her grandfather was Helios)

Encounter with Creon pgs. 74-79

-Creon is king of Corinth

What we learn about women:

-A woman’s family has to pay for her husband

-a woman can’t say “no” to her husband

- Its ok for a man to cheat on his wife, but not ok for the wife to cheat on her husband

-It’s even worse for Medea because she is foreigner

-Medea makes the chorus promise to not tell anyone her plan to get even.

-Creon is banishing Medea. He admits to being afraid of her

-She is clever

-She is capable of evil

-She has already threatened him.

-Medea is acting calm and pretending to be weak, makes Creon trust her even less

-Medea uses Creon’s biggest weakness against him: his children

-She uses her children to appeal to his love of his own children

-Medea wants to stay ONE more day

-Creon agrees

Encounter with Jason

Medea’s Plan: Kill Creon, the princess & Jason w/ poison

Medea’s Problem – no place to go after killing

Chorus supports Medea & her problems

Jason enters & says Medea got herself exiled

Medea’s arguments:

-They have children

-He was a bad husband (not loyal)

-She did EVERYTHING to help him/save his life (think back to the Golden Fleece)

Jason’s arguments:

-Gives credit to Aphrodite

-Jason made Medea famous

-Only married Glauce (the princess) for her money and title (to support her and the children)

-Wishes there was some other way to have children instead of women

Jason offers Medea help, and she refuses it

Encounter with Aegeus (pages 88-93)

-Aegeus runs into Medea on his way back from the Oracle at the temple of Apollo.

-He was looking for advice on how to have a son.

-Oracles talk in riddles, so Aegeus asks for Medea to help figure out what he is supposed to do.

-Aegeus agrees with Medea that Jason was wrong to leave Medea and Creon is wrong to banish Medea.

-Medea asks Aegeus to take her in and she will help him figure out how to have an heir.

-Aegeus agrees to give Medea safety in Athens IFshe is able to get there herself. Aegeus isn’t willing to risk ruining his relationship with Corinth.

-Medea makes Aegeus promise by the gods to never banish her from Athens. Why?

-Aegeus doesn’t know she is planning to kill people.

-You can never break a promise on the gods.

-Aegeus agrees and leaves

-Medea’s new plan:

-Pretend to agree with Jason

-Ask Jason to keep the children

-Send the princess poisoned presents via the children

-Princess will die and anyone who touches he will die

-Medea will then kill the children

-Chorus: doesn’t agree with Medea. They have switched to Team Human Law

Encounter with Messenger and Final Encounter with Jason

(pages 101-111)

-Messenger enters: brings news that the princess and Creon are dead

-Glauce dies after putting on the veil/crown: she started having a seizure and then caught on fire

-Creon runs in and tries to save her, hugs her, and is stuck to her when he gets us. The flesh is ripped from his bones.

-Chorus asks the gods to stop the murder of the children. Doesn’t work

-Chorus makes a strong point that Medea is not mad (crazy). She is completely aware of what she is doing.

-Jason enters: comes to save the children, doesn’t know they are dead.

**Deus ex machina: intervention from the gods** (Helios gives Medea a dragon drawn chariot)

-Jason talks about how much he hates Medea, compares her to a tiger, a monster, and a demon.

-Jason requests two things: to bury the children, to hold his children one last time