Write a detailed explanation of the ways in which Euripides presents Medea’s character and situation to the audience.

 

Euripides first introduces Medea’s character by giving context. Euripides uses the Nurses character to give context to the situation Medea finds herself in. Immediately in line 7, the nurse describes Medea as “heart battered by her love for Jason”, which immediately depicts to the audience that the play is revolved around a relationship, and a toxic one as such. The first time Medea speaks in line 96 she states “I hate my life. How can I put an end to it?”. Not only does this showcase the violent and suicidal thoughts of Medea’s character, immediately reflecting the extent of her grief, but it also highlights to the audience that the extent of Medea’s frustration and anger is immense. This contrasts with normal romantic plays where the woman is often grieving silently in sorrow – in this play, this sense of sorrow and grief is clearly translated into anger and violence. Euripides’s use of descriptive language in the words “wild animal glare” in the nurse’s description of Medea conveys violent and out of the ordinary behaviour of Medea, comparing Medea to the violent nature of an animal, almost suggesting that she can’t be tamed – this foreshadows the killing of her children in the sense that her violence can’t be tamed or controlled, leading to her killing her two children. Her wild and out of the ordinary anger is also emphasised further by the role of the chorus, which state in line 181 “Hurry before she hurts anyone inside”. The chorus, being the voice of the corinthian women, reflect uneasiness at this point episode one – it is evident that chorus is worried about Medea and how she may hurt someone as a result of her unprecedented anger.