Electra and Medea
This is an excerpt from the paper...
Medea and Electra are two women who become filled with rage when they suffer what they perceive as the ultimate betrayal. In the case of EuripidesÆ Medea, Medea feels betrayed by sacrificing her love to assist her husband JasonÆs ambitions, only to find he abandons their marriage and children to take up with King CreonÆs daughter, Glauce, in order to further his ambitions of power. In the case of SophoclesÆ Electra, Electra feels betrayed that her mother Clytemnestra has killed her beloved father, Agamemnon, and taken up with a lover, Aegisthus. In each of these dramas the themes of love, family relationships, fate and love are illustrated. Both plays are very similar in that the female characters of Medea and Electra are driven to murder or orchestrating murder because of the combined impact of these four themes. Despite the similarities in these themes, the actions of both Medea and Electra are primarily driven by revenge in order to achieve justice for what each view as the injustices done to them and their family. The theme of love is prevalent in both Medea and Electra. In Medea, Medea is wracked by pain and anguish over JasonÆs betrayal of her love. She has sacrificed her life to help Jason achieve his ambitions, providing him with two children and helping him murder his brother to advance his aims. When she discovers his rejection of her and their children to marry the KingÆs daughter, she suffers the pain of unrequited
. . .
410). Thus, both families in these dramas suffer from dysfunction that adds hurt to the vengeance in Medea and Electra.
The impact of fate and the gods on human lives is clearly evident in both Medea and Electra. In Medea, we see that the Chorus tries to prevent her from carrying out her plans to murder her children. Medea will not obey the advice. By disobeying this advice Medea disrupts what is considered as the divine order. However, there are few actions by divinities in the play, ôIn their attempts to make sense of their world, [EuripidesÆ characters] are rarely guided or opposed by the actual presence of divinities on stage, unlike the heroes and heroines of Sophocles,ö (Life, 1). In Electra, we see that the Oracle of Delphi and the gods play a role in shaping the actions of the characters. Orestes, ElectraÆs twin brother, is called home to avenge his fatherÆs death by ApolloÆs Delphic Oracle. Electra decides she must carry out the murders by herself, since she believes that her brother is unable to complete the task. She believes this because of the Delphic Oracle. Zimmermann and Marier maintain that this is due to influence from the Oracle and creates change in ElectraÆs intentions, ôAccording to the oracle, O
. . .
Some common words found in the essay are:
Medea Electra, Glauce MedeaÆs, Medea MedeaÆs, Medea Medea, Electra Electra, MedeaÆs Medea, Medea Chorus, Zimmermann Marier, Viewed Feb, Jason Medea, medea electra, electra medea, medea electra medea, feb 2 2005, driven revenge, feb 2, 2 2005, viewed feb, euripides 431, 431 electra, viewed feb 2, euripides 431 electra, electra primarily, actions medea, primarily driven revenge,
Approximate Word count = 1323
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)
More Essays on
Electra and Medea
|
Customer Service
to Over
32,000 Professionally Written Papers!!!
