Human beings are the determiners of their own fate and misfortunes. In this drama, “The Medea” love is defined as a passionate feeling that exists in both pure and wild forms by which men are destroyed, controlled or distressed.
On the other hand, marriage is brought out as an institution that was fully managed by the men folk. In this case, a woman would be sub-ordinate to the husband. This is why Jason decides to marry the princess without consent from his wife. Furthermore, marriage was a symbol of status in the society. This is substantiated by the reason Jason gives for marrying the princess; “…to win wealth and power for myself and for my sons”. Sex is highlighted as something that meant a lot to a man as compared to a woman.
This autonomy empowers Jason to be an infidel yet he does not find this abnormal (Allen 2011). The agony and sensitiveness of ill-treated love are vehemently brought out. These events are progressed systematically until they culminate in the dreadful act of vengeance. Medea, who is still a weak woman, is forcefully delineated. Marriage is shown as an institution where women had neither choice nor voice on whom to man. Medea highlights this issue by expressing that a man can get another woman at his pleasure yet a woman has to “keep eyes on one alone”.
The dissension of emotions which love stimulates is shown. However, amid the stress of conflict and deceptive commonplaces that acts on the soul, vengeance carries the day. This vengeance is so rife that Medea contemplates killing her children as much as they are innocent (Allen 2011). Eventually her hatred for Jason surpasses her children’s love as she kills them.
This piece brings out clearly the nature of human beings that result to their own peril. The decisions by Jason and Medea are examples of how human nature contributes to human beings misfortunes. Medea consoles herself that by killing her children, it would correspond to the demise of the princess in attaining retribution on Jason. However, the actions of Jason are not any better. After a lot of sacrifices made by Medea in order to marry Jason, he still chooses to betray her for wealth and status.
Medea “kills her own brother” and is ready to betray her family so as to be married to Jason. Evidently, the choices and actions of these two prove that human beings determine their own fate and misfortunes.
