medea first long speech to the chorus (line 214-261) she claims that women are afflicted with the most wrenched existence on earth, how gender explored in the play? does medea emerge as a champion of

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Medea is both victim and victimizer in this play by Euripides. Meda finds herself in a terrible situation and as they say, desperation brews a bitter draught. Medea, up to this point, has already committed various feats involving murder of others, using seduction, manipulation, and the like. However, what is not generally depicted is the fact that she was a victim just as much as a victimizer. Consider that she put all of her faith and belief in her husband, only to have him betray her in many of the worse ways. She believed that she had no way out and that to live with Creon and his continuing ways would be death to her soul. And to her children's souls. The age old question has always been whether she killed the children as an act of anger toward her husband, or whether she did it out of love; not wanting her children to have to be a part of this life and this kingdom. Better off dead, she might reason, than to have to live like this. Medea has emerged over the years as a poster child for the oppression of women and the terrible fate that many around the world face at the ands of male centered governments and societies. It can also be said that at first Medea attempted diplomacy, attempted to use reason, then turned to manipulation, attemtped murder, and then, having exhausted all possiblities for ending her torment, ended her life and the lives of her children.