PARENTHOOD IN EURIPIDES MEDEA The first thing we hear about Medea as a mother is from the Nurse in the prologue

e where she says She hates her sons; To see them is no pleasure to hershe is a frightening woman. Next we hear from the tutor that their father, Jason is going to allow them to be exiled with their mother as he is too wrapped up in his new love to care. The Nurse warns the boys to stay away from their mother as she will do something terrible and she is afraid that she will target the children. Ironically the Nurse compares Medea to a lioness guarding her cubs. One of Medeas most powerful lines is when she is talking to the chorus about the plight of women and sneers at the idea that they stay at home safe while their husbands go out to battleI would rather stand three times in the front line than bear one child. Medea plays on Creons paternal instincts and when he orders her out of the city, she begs him for one day, not for herself, but for her sons. She begs him by his daughter, his only child whom he loves above all. He cannot resist this plea. From their first meeting, it is clear that Jason doesnt really want to be bothered about his old family. He does want to do the right thing though and wants to make sure they have all the money and connections they need. If theres anything else I can provide to meet the childrens needs or yours, tell meI have done my best to help you and the children. While Medea is ranting at him for his betrayal, she says even after I had borne you sons! If you had still been childless I could have pardoned you Jason tries to argue that this new marriage was to further the advantage of the boys tooto bring up my sons in a manner worthy of my descentyou need no more children, do you?

 If only children could be got some other way, without the female sex! (Jason). Next we meet Aegeus who is the King of Athens, on his way from Delphi as he has gone to consult the oracle to find out how he and his wife may have children. In return for his oath promising sanctuary for her, Medea promises him help in conceiving a child, this is rather ironic in the light of what happens later. Only now does Medea reveal her plan to kill first the Princess and then what makes me cry with painI will kill my sons. The chorus tells her that she cannot do such an evil thing and beg her not to. But she knows that it is the way to deal Jason the deepest wound. When she meets Jason again, she pleads a change of heart, apologises, and begs Jason to ask Glauce to plead with her father to let the two boys stay in Corinth. She persuades him to allow the boys to go to Glauce with gifts to melt her heart. To buy my sons from exile I would give life, not just gold.She weeps as she makes this request as she knows it will be the end of them. Medea is especially upset when Jason talks of their future, she wonders if they will live a long life, but of course, knows they will not. When the tutor arrives in with the good news that the boys are allowed to stay, Medea breaks down as she knows this spells the end. She laments the future that the boys will never have, imagines their weddings and thinks of how much she went through giving birth and bringing them up; how she often imagined how they would care for her and even bury her How people would envy me my sons! She knows how much pain she will be in after killing them, and even draws back and says she cannot do it Women, my courage is all goneI wont do it. I wont think of it again. But her hatred of Jason is stronger than her maternal love and she steels herself to kill the boys. As she goes, the chorus say that those who do not have children are the lucky ones, they mean worry and fear,

anxiety and often disappointment. They can even die before their time. News arrives of the terrible death of Glauce and the resulting death of her father, Creon, who. Out of love for his only child, embraces her as she suffers and is consumed by the same poison. Let me die with you, my daughter! Medea knows that now she has no choice, she must kill the boys as they are now implicated in the royal deaths. For one short day forget your children; afterwards weep. The chorus makes a last attempt to persuade her not to do it, they wonder if they should go and intervene but offstage, she kills them and we hear the screams. O miserable mother to murder the babes of your body! Stone and iron you are They call the killing pollution. In a poignant moment, Jason arrives to save (he thinks), the boys who are already dead. In a last spiteful gesture, she will not let him bury them or even touch their bodies. He cannot understand how she would do something which causes her so much pain too. She says my pains a fair price to take away your smile. Jason says The curse of childrens blood be on you!

MAIN POINTS

 Jason loves his boys but is somewhat careless of them, is prepared to allow them to be exiled and only realises when it is too late how much he loved them. Medea, although she loves her boys, does not love them as much as she hates Jason. She knows what she is doing, she is very upset, but feels it is worth it to hurt him. She manipulates others (Creon; Aegeus) parental feelings for her own ends. The Chorus feel that killing your own children is the worst crime that anyone could commit. At first they think she wont do it, they beg her not to and they even, in a choral ode, say that perhaps it is better not to have children at all. Creon is initially a tough tyrant who has no problem exiling Medea and her sons for the protection of his beloved daughter. But Medea plays on this love to persuade him to let her stay for a day which he does, despite his anxiety. There is such a touching contrast between his death (basically suffered as a consequence of his love for his daughter) and Medea coldly murdering her sons. Aegeus whose presence in Corinth is due to his longing to have children. Medea ironically promises her help in this which gets him to promise her sanctuary.