Medea

Medea Obsession as a driving force in Euripides’ Medea “The fiercest anger of all, the most incurable, is that which rages in the place of dearest love” (Medea 32). With this brief sentiment, the collective mind of the female Chorus in Euripides’ Medea relays to the audience the destructive potential of devotion transformed into an obsession for revenge. Medea embodies the ultimate scorned female figure; a person disposed to taking horrific actions to satisfy the need to wound her enemies. Such a personage, often blinded by an insuppressible fury, habitually finds personal justification in taking actions of revenge that may ultimately cause them more grief than their adversary endures. Her propensity to unhindered obsession is ultimately the driving force which propels Medea through her life, first causing her to take extreme actions to secure Jason for her husband, and then to continue her murderous rampage in response to her husband’s infidelity. Medea’s irrational and horrific response to her husband’s new wife stems from a deeply rooted belief that she is solely responsible for Jason’s successes during their courtship. When Jason first confronts Medea, imploring her to cease her behavior, his scorned wife quickly reminds him of the role she played in his medea, jason, medea’s, life, sons, obsession, actions, revenge, own, husband, however, enemies, soon, murderous, husband’s, death, before, audience, wife, ultimately, two, satisfy, play, order, king, herself, hand, first, father, even, cause, woman, willing, voice, upon