Role of Family in Euripides’ Medea (Play Analysis)

While family dysfunction can simply be recognized as toxic relationships between family members, Medea shows a darker side of family dysfunction. Medea uses examples of loyalty, or lack thereof, as well as the extreme consequences of it to highlight family dysfunction. The role of family dysfunction is to show us that a united family has benefits beyond just the family, but also in other ways such as wealth and social status. Because a well-ordered family life plays a big role in providing stability for a woman in ancient Greece, Marriage into a royal family brings wealth, and having children with wealthy people make for a better family situation.

The first example of how Euripides’ Medea shows that a united family can benefit in other ways is by highlighting that in this period, a well-ordered family life is the only thing that could provide stability for a woman in ancient Greece. Medea’s act of disloyalty in going against her family, though tragic, had a purpose. Medea insists that Jason promises to marry her in hopes that by helping Jason in his journey, she will be able to swap one stable family structure for another. Not realizing the stability in her previous family, she makes this sacrifice at the expense of many others, though not explicitly said, for her own personal gain. Medea realizes this throughout this whole story, though. She told Aegeus, “I’m completely powerless, while they have wealth and status on their side” (Puchner, sec. 722). which explains partly why Medea went on to commit the horrific crime of killing her husband’s new wife, and later, both of her children. Whether Medea married Jason purely because goddesses Aphrodite and Hera’s persuaded her, or because she wanted to gain some sort of fame is up to the reader to predict, but Jason claims that Medea gained far more than she lost when she abandoned her family. The benefits she received are living in a civilized society and gaining fame, both of which, according to Jason, would have been impossible if she remained at the "ends of the earth" (Puchner, sec. 532). There is truth in what Jason said, whether it was intentional or not, it is clear that Medea did gain something more than just  family in betraying her father and fleeing her country to be with Jason.

In addition, marriage into a royal family brings wealth and abundance. For example, Jason was willing to “ruin his house” and marry the Corinthian Princess to increase his wealth and status. Jason says he was “dragged down by impossible problems” (Puchner, sec. 544) after moving to Corinth from Iolcus, and so, “What better solution could there be for an exile like me than to marry the princess?” (Puchner, sec. 545). Jason knew exactly what he was giving up when he left to marry the princess, but this family dysfunction serves a role as well; for Jason, there was much more to gain from this new marriage with the princess when it came to fame, wealth, and power, and he only justified it further by mentioning how Medea and their children could benefit as well, “I only want to give you protection and safeguard our children by fathering royal siblings for them” (Puchner, sec. 585). 

Moving forward, another example is when Medea makes a second promise of loyalty for personal gain, this time to create dysfunction in Jason’s new home. Planning to get revenge on Jason and his new family, Medea uses Aegeus as a sort of escape route, asking him to make a formal pledge to ensure her gain from this deal, “If you are bound by oaths, you can’t let them take me from your land” (Puchner, sec. 718). Medea, after thinking about how she will get revenge on her husband as well as his new wife and her father, calls out to Hecate to assist her. One source states that by having Medea find Hecate, Euripides’ is suggesting that, “Medea has turned the house against its former master, Jason, and remade it into a nucleus of power from which she moves against Corinth's hegemon” (Burton, 1995). 

Lastly, we can see that throughout the story Euripides brings the issues of gender within ancient literature that were especially present in this time period and location, often women seem to be the main victims to these kinds of betrayals. Because of the kind of woman Medea is: powerful, strong and prideful, it seems as though this conflict between men and women is, according to McDermott, “Meaningless, as both sexes...[Jason and Medea]..are indicted and convicted of betrayal of the most basic human responsibilities and values” (8). Konstantinou’s writings make us question things like why a strong and independent woman like Medea seems to require justification even for being out of the palace and speaking before the Chorus. (87). Though issues of gender during these times surely did affect Medea, she did not allow herself to be a victim to the consequences of these realities without some sort of gain in return. But because stability, abundance and wealth for women lied greatly in reliance on a well-ordered family and promises of loyalty were used several times to help achieve these things, the consequences of how those oaths have played out have had great consequences for many in Euripides’ Medea.