Uncontrollable Passion or a Deeper Ethical Problem: Revisiting Medea from a Feminist Reading

Abstract

Ian Watt emphasises the collective nature of myth by stating that it ‘embodies or symbolises some of the most basic values of a society’.1 However, Euripides’ Medea both rebels against and symbolises the collective values and practices of a society. She undermines the reactionary institutions and thoughts in Ancient Greek society while at the same time representing its more progressive, radical impulses. Medea, transcending the physical self and material world, which is generally accepted as the indication of madness, craves the sublime power of God and she has been one of the mythical figures associated with complex human problems. Despite the seeming diversity of theoretical approaches which suggest that myths attest to the age they flourish in and the perception of the individual and society and their attachment to the religion, philosophy, culture, and history that society feeds on, she is depicted as monster in many cultures. The moral stance which is portrayed in the character of Medea full of paradoxes turns into an abstract ethical problem since it is not always possible for real men and women to become free by ignoring the constraints that hold them in bondage. Thus, in this chapter, Euripides’ Medea is going to be discussed in terms of not a female’s but an individual’s seeking to liberate herself to make authentic choices that are morally correct for herself and the community. © Inter-Disciplinary Press 2012.