At the end of Euripides' remarkable view of what it is to be a woman and a woman of power in a man's
society, Medea leaves a day of horror, somewhat repentent, but unpunished. This stunning climax has stuck in the craw of Western society, particularly Judaic-Christian society for over 2500 years. The result has been thousands
of self-redeeming, self-righteous performances and scholarly critiques that relieve themselves with a conclusive portrait of a witch, an evil woman, the nightmare that echoes under the marriage bed. An opaque, self-serving and totally
false portrait.
|