In the beginning of the play, Euripides portrays Medea as a stereotypical female within the male power structure. He highlights many of the injustices suffered by women, specifically autonomy, insecurity, and manipulation. In the opening scene of the play, the nurse characterizes Medea as a decent wife, “Pleasure to the people of her land of exile/ And she herself helped Jason in every way. This is indeed the greatest salvation of all- For the wife not to stand apart from the husband,” (11-15). However, in the same manner that Jason feels a commitment to expand his ethos, Medea feels a commitment to the cultural ideas of justice and honor. As Jason abandons Medea and exercise’s his masculine right to remarry, this gives Medea no choice but to respond to Jason’s denial of obligation, a sense of obligation to family that they should both share in Greek culture, especially under an oath. Consequently, the audiences’ encounters with the chorus reveal the specific experiences of women in their domestic sphere and societal ethics.
Thus, Creon’s actions reveal the process in which Medea’s attempts to follow acceptable principles are being ignored by Creon, who approaches Medea as a wife and mother: “So set against your husband,/ Medea, I order you to leave my territories/ An exile, and take along with you your two children,” (271-274). This pronouncement forces Medea to seek justice. Accordingly, Medea becomes “a monster, not a woman” (1342) with the murder of her children. The Chorus condemns this act. This is the single act through which Medea defies the female role as men have defined it and women have accepted it. Thus, this demonstrates that women (such as Medea) are not inherently evil, but are made evil by social circumstances outside of their control. Therefore, even Euripides acknowledges the injustice amongst the genders, as he refuses to blame gender injustice for evil. This appeal to social injustice can only become excuses for the loss of personal accountability. Consequently, Euripides believes a heroine is a woman who demonstrates that love, jealousy, and revenge are characteristics of humanity that evoked universal reactions, which led to the demise of Jason. At the end of the play, it can be seen, that Medea’s actions indicate a universal potential for lawless destruction with the human soul. Therefore, Euripides remains “gender neutral” to comment on universal behaviors.