Medea Family A Fatal Flaw free essay sample

But Medias independence comes at a cost. Retribution compels Made to kill her children. Euripides use Of the family as a representation Of burden, strife, and vulnerability communicates the urgency of breaking from the family and becoming sovereign even if it means insanity. Made contains two competing models of family. In one model, the familial bond reigns supreme. The blood that is shared between families is sacred. Croon uses this model of family to defend his decision to banish Made from Corinth. In fear that she will hurt his daughter in her rage, he orders Made to leave stating I dont old you closer than my own family. (line 328) This statement signifies the importance of blood relations. This model of family contrasts a much lesser model of family acquired through marriage. It consists of promises made between a man and woman. Made cries out What of his oaths? (line 21 She believes that Jason has done her the gravest wrong; however Seasons self- righteousness leads him to believe that in remarrying a woman with a higher social standing he is ensuring a better life for his children. In saying that, Jason creates a hierarchal standard of family in which Made as his wife is ender his offspring. To Croon and Jason, oaths are nothing but words than can be broken but blood relations are forever. But both models of family prove to be fruitless for Made. She traded whatever blood relations she had for a family with Jason but in the end she loses everything. Made loses her marriage, children, and self in rage. The play presents two juxtaposing ideas: the state of being alone versus familial intimacy. Medias utter dejection after Jason breaks their oath of marriage proves that having a family is a fatal flaw because it makes her commit heinous crimes.Her greatest mistake was asserting her ancestral home for Jason. Her attachment to him makes her vulnerable and weak, all characteristics that Made finds undesirable. She cries out in despair to hell with family, all of the house. (line 114) Seasons betrayal causes Made to become angry. Her anger becomes vengeful when she decides that the only way to make Jason feel the hurt she felt was to kill Seasons new wife, her father, and the children she shares with him. She rationalizes that she must repay those that dared first to treat her with injustice (line 165), but her resolve wavers.Medias passion melts away after he sees her childrens shining looks(line 1042), but after some thought she is reminded that her greatest fear is not that she will be alone but that she will become the laughing-stock of her enemies. Medias status as a mother and wife weakens her judgment because it causes her to consider others before herself. The fact that she considers abandoning her pain in order to keep her family together indicates that family makes Made feeble. As an individual, she is clever but family relations undermine her finesse.In a final act of retribution, Made kills her children. Some may argue that this was the cake of Medias insanity or that killing her blood was completely savage. However, Medias actions were out of mercy. She concedes, they were bound to die in any case. (line 1063) Again family presents itself as an obstacle because the fate of Medias children burdens her. She reasons that she should kill her children instead of allowing her enemies to decide their fate after she has been banished. She assures that her children are safe in death while still managing to hurt her husband. Ultimately, judgment of Medias actions is based on how you view family. According to the blood Emily model Medias actions are unexplainable wrong, however it is essential for her to break all ties she has to Jason now that their marriage has reached its demise. There is no easy or right way to assess the situation. But the fact still remains that Medias insane act brought her clarity. Although Medias decision to kill her children can be characterized as violent, there is no roundabout way that she could have taken to separate her from the affliction that is her family. Medias decision to kill her children was not an act of vengeance, but rather her final opportunity to establish her independence. On the surface, Made is characterized as a passionate, insane, wife motivated by jealousy to commit not just murder but infanticide. Indubitably, Jason has betrayed their marriage and the tragic play provides a discourse on revenge and betrayal. More importantly the discourse provides details that illuminate Medias status as a victim of an injustice. Made and Seasons union was not a conventional marriage. They traded in the presence of an extended family for sealed oaths that joined them together.Even then Made still got the shorter hand of the stick. She cries out O my father, O my city/ after ailing my own brother/ in disgrace, I had to leave you/ lost my fatherland forever. (line 166-169). In this dialogue, Made is surprised that someone that she gave up everything for could betray her. The discourse highlights Medias humanity because it makes her situation worthy of empathy. She sacrifices everything but ultimately gains nothing. In recognizing that she has reached rock bottom, Made makes an attempt to reposition herself as an independent force.She declares, no one should think of me as slight and weak/ or as compliant-quite the contrary: Im deadly to my enemies, purposive to my friends. / Its people of this sort whose lives are crowned with glory. (lines 807-810) Medias decree proves that she is more concerned with being a respectable individual than an obedient wife. She believes that people who retaliate in defense are the ones that win praise. As a complement to her establishment of self and effectiveness as an individual, Made is especially unresponsive to the advice of others. She does not respond to counsel.The nurse states she listens to the advice of her friends no more/ than if she were a rock or sea-surf (lines 28-29). The only time she speaks to the Chorus is when she is seeking their complicity in her plan to destroy Jason. The fruition of Medias journey towards defining herself is directly related to the progression of her retribution. Made inherently establishes her autonomy as she draws farther and farther away from her family. The fact that Made is able to uplift herself even in such a grief stricken state makes her heroic. While some of her actions are questionable, every single move is essential to her heroic reintegration.She is victorious in her pursuit to make her enemies suffer. She is successful in stepping out of the shadow of Jason and her family. Made takes control of her own story. Instead of remaining the victim, Made behaves as the director of her own narrative. She devises her own plans and rehearses her actions. Her cleverness allows her to man epilate Other such as Croon to implement her plans. The tragedy becomes a heroic epic in which Made finds herself through strife and death. Euripides play manifests many revolutionary claims regarding family. His narrative is a warning against family as it staunches personal growth.The presence of family makes one weak because t gives you something to lose. Moreover the sacrifices made for a family dont always equal the benefits of having one. All of Medias deeds have been in relation to family. Instead of building herself and her character, Made spent her time betraying her family in the name of Jason. However, Jason didnt think twice before betraying their matrimonial oaths. The presence of a family left Made vulnerable to attack. She gave he people she cared for the power to move her. This made Seasons betrayal all the more heart wrenching. Her final act of killing her kids was her liberation.It marked her victory over her enchantment because it completely detached Made from her family. Even though Made loses her family, she is finally able to receive the clarity that she needs to characterize herself beyond the compounds of a family. Euripides Made is innovative in the way that it relates the message that defining yourself requires you to break from your family even if it means losing something.