Medea
Synopsis:
In exile in Corinth with Jason and their two sons, the sorceress Medea learns that her husband plans to abandon her for a younger princess, the daughter of King Creon. Facing banishment and the loss of her status, Medea feigns reconciliation while secretly plotting a devastating revenge against those who have wronged her. As alliances shift and her fury mounts, she grapples with the extremes of love turned to hatred and the consequences of unchecked passion. Euripides’ gripping tragedy explores betrayal, the plight of women in ancient society, and the conflict in Greek society on what protection really means.
Video
Review
If one could enjoy reading a tragic story, then I could be counted as enjoying this book. Medea is the woman slighted by Jason, and whether you believe Jason is doing the right thing, especially for a Greek of the time the story is written, is the bigger question as to how tragic or to what degree this is a tragedy.
Euripides uses some great writing to make the audience feel the emotional despair Medea has and her further descent into it, resulting in the actions she takes. There are a few times that Medea becomes a bit too introspective with her pointing out that she has reached such a point of madness that she shouldn’t do what she is about to do and it’s a bit much even for her – although that may lend to believing her madness more.
Euipides does a good job of staying with his female character and while he doesn’t write her to excuse her actions, you understand most of what she does. Once again, the early Greeks as a people seeing what type of story plays out when you let revenge overtake the person.
Final Grade
A-
Get The Book (And Support The Show)
Cave To The Cross GoodReads Page
To check out more reviews and see what Patrick’s reading go to his GoodReads page here.
Other book reviews can be found here.
