One of Medea’s most prominent characteristics is her
insatiable need for vengeance, a characteristic that I believe she shares with
Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights.
Throughout both of these stories, the characters are driven by a revenge that
has come about as a result of what appears to them to be unrequited love.
Interestingly, I think Heathcliff’s story could have almost
served as a cautionary tale for Medea. Heathcliff’s need for revenge, which
comes about from a young age, ultimately tears apart all of his personal
connections, and it comes to serve as a focal point in his character and
temperament. Still, life continues around him, and the parallel lives of the
children in the novel (whom, like Medea, Heathcliff tries to use as an outlet
for vengeance, although doesn’t kill them) serve to show just how futile his
efforts really are.
Medea would hate that
result. Yes, her revenge was clever, planned, and entirely horrific, but
ultimately damage is the only thing that can be reaped from vengeance. Though
the play doesn’t show this, Medea would never get the finality that she sought
after. Jason would be grief-stricken for the rest of his life, but he would
live on in some fashion or another, and Medea herself doesn’t exactly end up on
the moral high ground with people looking up to her. Like Heathcliff, she is
damaged, and maybe even worse, stagnant. Though in Wuthering Heights, you can see how Heathcliff ends up in an endless
cycle retaliation, and even more, how he never stops loving Catherine. While he
remains in this cycle, others move on. I feel like this awful permanency would
be Medea’s worst nightmare, and if she had known of this consequence she may
have acted less rash. In her life, she had been seen as this incredible force
of love and cleverness that could do brilliant things, but after her revenge
has been exacted, she will be stuck, still in love, but seen instead as hateful
and vengeful, all the while Jason will be hurt, but not caught in an endless
cycle.
