Recap and
Update
What Kind of
Tragedy?
Discussion…
Medea:
Mother?
Monster?
Other?
Euripides Medea Part 2
A Different Kind of Tragedy
Lost in Translation?
Medea’s thumos
MEDEA
“I know indeed what evil I intend to do,
But stronger than all my afterthoughts is my fury
(thumos),
Fury that brings upon mortals the greatest evils.”
(Euripides Medea p. 35, trans. Warner)
Literal rendering:
“I know indeed what sorts of evils I am about to do, but thumos (“anger”?
“spirit”? “passion”?) is master of/stronger than/controlling my deliberations
– thumos, the very thing that causes the greatest of evils for mortals.”
Recap and Update
What Kind of Tragedy?
A Different Kind of Tragedy?
Aristotle Poetics
• Plot, muthos
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
simple
complex
episodic
anagnorisis
peripeteia
hamartia
complication /
reversal
• Ethical component
– ēthos-“temperament”
Other schemata
• Blood-guilt
• Cycle of suffering
• “Tragic Formula”
–
–
–
–
koros
hubris
atē
dikē
• pathei mathos, “from
suffering, knowledge”
– thought
– hamartia
4
Mythic Versatility
• Tradition (child-killings)
• Innovation
–
–
–
–
Medea murderer
Aegeus’ visit
Creon, Daughter killed
Medea ex machina
6
Gender-Ethnic Dialectic
Jason, Creon
Male
bia (force, violence)
dominance, honor
Greek
intelligible speech
civilized, orderly
Human
within justice
Medea
Female
metis (cunning), softness
submission, acquiescence
Barbarian
“ba-ba-ba” (not in play)
violent, uncouth
Other-worldly?
beyond justice?
Dialectic Internalized?
Medea
Male
bia (force, violence)
dominance, honor
Greek
intelligible speech
civilized, orderly
Human
within justice
Medea
Female
metis (cunning), softness
submission, acquiescence
Barbarian
“ba-ba-ba” (not in play)
violent, uncouth
Other-worldly?
beyond justice?
Agōn : Tragic Sophistic, Jason vs.
Medea (pp. 15 ff.)
9
Character Dynamics …
• chorus helps us
side with her
• helps see m’s side
• j is determined
• j ignorant
• he was feeling
guilty!
– damage control
– blaming the victim
• j maybe thinks
he’s justified
• j feels no guilt at
all
– covering bases
10
Sophistic
• sophos
– wise/clever/skilled
• sophia
– wisdom/cleverness/skill
• sophistēs
– teacher/practitioner of
sophia
• sophistic
– teaching/practice of sophia
“To make the weaker
argument appear the
stronger” –
Protagoras
11
Agon Content Analysis
(pp. 15 ff.)
•
Medea: arguments
1.
•
at cost
J. broke vows.
Where to go?
›
Aphrodite saved J.
›
2.
3.
by moving to Greece
Prudent match (argument
from expediency).
›
4.
though Medea helped
M. gained more than
gave.
›
–
shameful betrayal
Jason: arguments
1.
Medea
–
M. helped-saved J.
›
2.
3.
•
for J., for M., for children
Women as trouble. (Tips
his hand?)
–
•
“a hypocrite who is too glib
only multiplies the danger
that it puts him in”
“you felt your glory
tarnished by an aging,
oriental wife”
J. should have persuaded M.
Jason
–
–
“has nothing to do with
women”
generous motives
The agōn Inside:
Medea’s Monologue
affectionate maternity
- versus bruised honor
(pp. 33 ff.)
Exodos
• Medea ex
machina
• cult foundation
(aetiology …)
Medea with
children
• prophecy
stage building
(skene)
Jason
14
Discussion…
Medea: Mother? Monster? Other?
Mother? Monster? Other?
•
•
agrees with m (horrible)
before/atfer
•
•
sympathized before
•
•
•
doesn’t sympathize
gave up her life to jason
–
–
after unsympathetic
non-aristotelian
–
not after
–
more sym.
does it matter that the
kids are boys?
–
–
j needs male heirs
more interesting if girls
–
shows self better than j
–
the scorned women
often lose, but not m
by killing kids setting
herself free
Medea preventing
suffering
• can we sympathize with
a villain??
• admire medea
•
•
triumphs over disrespect
she’s shown
17