Sunday, November 4, 2018
Audience of Medea
As we read Medea, I wondered how the audience might have reacted. On one hand, as we mentioned in class, they would have not agreed with Jason breaking his oath, especially since it was with the gods and violated their value of family. On the other, I wonder what they would have thought of Madea and the social commentary about how women are treated as inferior. She was described as clever and strong. The chorus is made up of the city's women, so perhaps this play was in part intended to voice the suppressed opinion of the women. The chorus says that women are viewed as inferior and manipulative, and that it is false and unjust; this commentary was included in attempt to make some impact or change, which also means this wasn't a wholly accepted opinion. Some of the audience must've not agreed with this. Medea, in killing her children, violated the Greek value of family unity. This is something the audience would definitely not have agreed with. Justice, though, was another Greek value; Medea's goal was revenge against Jason, and I think the audience would have wanted justice but wouldn't have agreed with her course of action.
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In commenting on the audience of Medea at the time of Ancient Greek society, I'd like to reflect upon the parallels that may easily be drawn between the society at the time and our society in modern times. Through midterm elections, there's been much discussion of the rising number of minorities present in the United States' government. To many, this may seem strange because of its newness, just as the idea of a woman in Ancient Greece seeking rightful revenge must have been strange as well. Just as anything, though, the newness of such things have and will wear off to become the new normal. After all, without ambitious, strong plays like Medea written, how could things like "Wicked" exist with primarily female leads? Comparatively, in government, how could Sonia Sotomayor be a justice without the inspiration of Ruth Bader Ginsburg? Progression is a trend in all societies, but Ancient Greece was one that made progress most notably.
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