FREE ESSAY ON MEDEA AND THE CHORUS

MEDEA AND THE CHORUS

Medea and the Chorus
The exchange that takes place between Medea and the Chorus serves several purposes in
Euripides' tragedy, The Medea. It allows us to sympathize with Medea in spite of her
tragic flaws. It also foreshadows the tragic events that will come to pass. Finally, it
contrasts rationality against vengeance and excess. The Chorus offers the sane view of
the world to the somewhat insane characters of Medea, Jason, and Creon. 
As the passage begins on page 176, the leader of the Chorus reveals that she has high
regards for Medea despite the fact that she is savage still. She acknowledges Medea as a
foreigner and an outsider and yet is sympathetic towards her. This alliance is apparently
based on female bonds rather than on any kind of national loyalty. 
Medea wastes no time before she begins lamenting and cursing those who dared wrong me
without cause. The Chorus tries to comfort Medea, hoping that this might lessen her
fierce rage / And her frenzy of spirit. They show real concern for her well-being, as
well as for the well-being of her loved ones. This unselfish attitude is in stark
contrast to the attitudes of the main characters in the tragedy, who all seem to be
extremely self-serving. So in just a few short lines, it's already become apparent that
while the chorus doesn't necessarily agree with the way that Medea is handling her
situation, they are sticking by her and supporting her. This idea supports one of the
important themes of the play: the battle of the sexes. 
Medea now has a chance to get a few things off her chest. She addresses the Women of
Corinth, reminding them that of all things that live upon the earth and have intelligence
we women are certainly the most wretched. She discusses the sad lot that women must deal
with in marriage and again stresses the fact that she is an outsider, alone, without / a
city. Her speech is clever and compelling. It's a reminder that she is a very intelligent
woman, certainly capable of outsmarting Jason or Creon. This leads us to her plot. She
tells the Chorus that a woman is timid in other things, and is a coward in looking on
cold steel, but / whenever she is wronged in her marriage there / is no heart so
murderous as hers. The Chorus responds to this by telling Medea that she has the right to
seek vengeance on her husband. This certainly foreshadows her plan to murder those who
she feels have injured her. It also reveals her tragic flaw. She is excessive in her love
for Jason and in her reaction to the loss of his devotion.
This passage marks the last time that a civil exchange takes place for quite some time.
Much of the rest of the play is spent on bickering, begging, and bad-mouthing. 
Whether you view Medea as a femme fatale or a tragic hero, her progression from pain to
anger to violence is very representative of human nature. Most humans are capable of the
excessive behavior demonstrated by Medea; fortunately, most of us live more by the
moderate and rational terms of the Chorus.