"Jason: You suffer too. You share my pain./Medea: I do."- Medea's character shows some of the qualities associated with tragic heroes. As stated, she is struggling. Yet, she chooses to sustain a reputable self-worth, even while in disaster. Throughout the play, it is seen that Medea is enthused by great passion, principally in terms of anger. As seen by the eventual circumstances in the key passage, Medea is a character who will not avert from her purpose when it is certain, like a tragic hero. She is apprehensive about her honour, and can't endure injustice or derision. The infringement of her integrity by Jason was why she opted to murder her children, to begin with.
Medea's condition is of a woman, an abandoned wife, a mother and a foreigner incapable of returning to her native soil. Her character's fury develops into such spitefulness that near the end of the play her motives change to cognisant murder, which she did achieve. Her anger was all the more fierce as it was love metamorphosed into rage, an emotion involving the same enormity of zeal but of an altered intent: "Anger is fearful and hard to heal,/When ones those who were lovers start to fight." This quality, her "fearful nerve", marks her out from mundane women, and elucidates why Medea felt and acted so strongly against treachery whereas other Greek women didn't. Medea has been determined to hurt Jason - "Yes, to cause you grief.". This fury and considerable self-esteem could have also been the core of Medea's pride, which beyond a point makes her heed exclusively about herself and not forfeit for anything - "In your stubborn pride you reject your dear ones". Medea has been shown as a personality who rejects sympathy - the simile "Like a stone or a wave of the sea" exemplifies that she will not be alleviated and assuaged by accepting sympathy and consequently get reasonably alright. Instead, she will fight for the things she ought to have. Of course, we are aware of the fact that Medea has been wronged. The notion that Jason does not even admit the pain she would go through because of divorce makes her even more embittered and detached. moreover, we can see that being a woman and a wife, Medea has no privilege over Jason's deeds. still, she carries out the assassination of her own offspring at her own resolve, to establish her aim and to incite sorrow in Jason and make him sense accountability for the conditions, "No, it was your insult to me, and your new-won marriage". Medea cannot be dared to be shamed. We can perceive that she takes the state of affairs to her pride and ego. "I wasn't going to let you show dishonour to my bed/And live a life of pleasure, mocking me". Thus, we can articulate by looking at Medea's character, that this entire play including the key passage has been about a preparation of vengeance, and with the murder, the play ends as its intention is served.
Jason, alternatively, doesn't love Medea an adequate amount to feel as indignant as she did, or not wed the princess in the first place. What Medea calls "marriage", Jason refers to as "bed" or "sex"- "And because of your feelings about our marriage bed/You killed them.". The spectators are informed of the incessant referencing to sex in the play, nonetheless keeping in mind all the activities Medea has executed merely for Jason, it is dubious that she would forgo so much solely for sexual intimacy. Jason supposes that his infidelity was a righteous act: "what I've done is wise" According to Jason, he could have been seen helping his sons. Jason's claim that he is acting out of affection for his sons provokes Medea, and shows how Jason took Medea for granted. "What he's set his heart on is a royal marriage". By these examples, the audience can reckon that Jason's chief incentive for his unfaithfulness was money, as it was a royal marriage. He was not concerned enough for his family. The audience informed that Creon, being a man, said "I'll not put you before my family" and was capable of caring about other assets but himself in a male-dominant society, it is seen how it was not commonplace for a husband or a father to desert his family. Thus, Jason was undeniably being an inept father due to other motives, his personal reasons, of wanting money. "Do you think this place is short of dresses?/Or money, do you think? Keep them! Don't give them away."
Regardless of the extent of conflict in a marriage, men had authority to conclude the destiny of a marriage. "When a man is tired of the company at home,/He can go out and end his discontent. indication We women/Must have eyes only for one man." Medea is discarded by her companion, does not have the sanctuary of her former home, adding to her antipathy. We can glimpse in the key passage these traits, of an ostensibly falling marriage with the power towards Jason. The difference between Medea's and Jason's outlook on marriage vows is clear, and is the explanation for these consequences. "Jason: My sons! What an evil mother you had!/Medea: My boys, it was your father's sickness killed you." The irrelevance of the boys is even apparent subsequent to their death, with the fact that they are still addressed. The "sickness" here could be a indication of Jason's love for money. More explicitly, in this play, the family is wrecked. "The family is finished, it's all over here./Jason's home is now the princess' bed". This, taking into account the respect given to a father as well as the inconsequentiality of the sons, well-portrays the theme of injustice and the collapse of their family solely due to Jason.
In this passage, we can in addition spot irony with Jason loving his children at that instant, but formerly willing to give them up simply for money, which he had. An example of this in the play is - "But my boys - I have come to save their lives". This is symbolic of irony throughout the play, which at times brought in the comedy. No matter what the irony is, Jason is essentially assisting as an accomplice towards the devastation of everything. At times, Jason's idiocy is astonishing, as to disentangle himself from financial trouble at that time, he was marrying the princess; this was what he had done formerly in Colchis as well, recieving the penalty of exile. Dramatic irony, otherwise: "stay one more day/That is not long enough for you/To do the damage I fear" in the play; in this case, is due to the audience being aware that one day is adequate for Medea to do the harm she desires.
Concluding, this passage is emblematic of very many characteristics of the play. The use of stichomythia offers an opportunity to change the pace and intensity of a scene, to create conflict and explore the relationship of the two speakers; which is what is perceived in this passage. Unity of action is also implied, as the solitary purpose of Medea was to hurt Jason. This passage manages to represent the characters of Medea and Jason, conflicts in marriage, subdual of women and irony in the play amongst other things.
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