“O your heart must have been made of rock or steel…” Chorus of Corinthian women, Euripides’ Medea

Daniel Mendelsohn’s fascinating analysis of Medea’s rhetoric and the relationship of language to reality sent me scurrying back to Euripides’ tragedy. This manipulative witch shapes the rhetorical style of her speeches to appeal to different audiences, most of them enemies.

 Does Medea have friends? Yes, I think so. The chorus of Corinthian women sympathize with her man problems. They blame Jason for leaving Medea to make a political marriage to a young princess.

Medea’s chatty speeches with the chorus of Corinthian women indicate an ability to bond emotionally with others, even if on a superficial level.  Women do gossip and confide about their marital problems. They do empathize with one another’s stories of men’s betrayals. Medea is not quite as calculating in her dealings with the chorus as with others.  She genuinely seems to like the women of Corinth, who comfort her until it becomes clear that her violence has spiraled out of control. And even then, they blame Jason for setting the cycle of violence in motion.

On an emotional level, Medea is a cold-blooded killer, a monstrous demi-goddess with no qualms about committing violence. The messenger’s graphic description of the brutal killing of Glauce and Creon with Medea’s gift of the poisoned dress is so horrific that I went numb. As for her last act of violence, we can only agree with the feeble last speech of the chorus: “Zeus in Olympus is the overseer of many doings.”

 But on my first reading years ago, I had a different, more naive view of Medea. Far from regarding her as a monster, I considered her a savvy, strong woman who understood the machinations of politics and was the agent of Jason’s success.  She was the woman behind the scenes who coached Jason on how to take the golden fleece and committed murders to speed their journey. Without Medea, Jason would be a hero-underachiever.

On this second reading, there is no question in my mind that she is a monster and a witch.   But the hubris of Jason to believe he could walk away from his marriage to a monster/witch/rhetorician!