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Kamille G 08/09/08

5. “A person of sense ought never to have his children/ Brought up to be more clever than the average.”

In Euripides, the quote written above was spoken by Medea. Medea’s main intention behind using this quote was to mislead Kreon, to make him believe that she was not as smart as he thought she was. Kreon tells Medea that he is “afraid” of her, and also that he heard that she is “threatening” (pg. 701 line 280 and line 285). In this quote, Medea wanted Kreon to believe that his status as ‘a king’ would make him a smarter person than she was because she was only ‘a woman.’ During the time when Medea was written, men in high ranks of society were believed to have been smarter than the women who were looked down on. This however, is not the case with Medea, she is in fact as smart as Kreon, and Kreon suspects this when he says ‘you are a clever women’ (pg.701 line 283). Medea uses this quote as a way of changing Kreon’s thoughts about her as being clever to the notion that she is just like all the other women and not clever at all. Medea makes Kreon believe that it is shameful to be smart since she would be “objects of envy” and “hated” in society (pg.280 line 295 and 301). Medea however, knows all along that this is her plot to manipulate Kreon, into allowing her to stay in Corinth for the day so that she can get back at her husband, Jason, for rejecting her for another woman.

Kamille G
Eng 225 Sec. 1
08/09/08

Q-1 this is indeed the greatest salvation of all-/for the wife not to stand apart from the husbands. / But now there’s hatred everywhere, Love is diseased.
This statement was made by Medias nurse and she said it because Jason Medias husband had cheated on her and he was planning on leaving her and the kids.

13. “Is love so small a pain, do you think, for a woman?”

This quotation was stated on page 723 line 1343 by Medea herself. Medea feels that Jason does not understand what type of pain she is going through. That is why she states is love so small a pain, do you think for a women because Jason thinks that Medea is over reacting about the whole situation and that she should not be hurt by such a thing. It seems to me that Medea is in a lot of hurt and wanted Jason to realize this. Medea really truly loved Jason and was torn about when she heard of his affair. She wants him to know that she hurts to not just him. It seems to me that Jason does not believe she should act out on her angry and pain and he is treating it like its not that big of a deal, but to Medea it is.

7. "Oh what an evil to men is passionate love!"
Medea page 702 line 327

Medea is speaking to Kreon about her being exiled from the land. She is trying to persuade him to allow her to stay in the land for an extra day. She tells him that she needs to use time to find a place to stay when really she just wants to use it to poison the new bride so that her ex-husband may suffer. Her line could be referring to either the love of married people, or the love of their country.

Alex Slavin

Mr. Hobbs

English 225

6. “A sharp-tempered woman, or, for that matter, a man, / Is easier to deal with than the clever type/ Who holds her tongue.”

This quote can be seen on page 702 and the speaker is Kreon. Kreon is exchanging words with Medea. Medea is trying to persuade Kreon to allow her to stay within the kingdom. Kreon now believes that Medea is plotting some evil against her children and husband. What kreon means by this statement is that he refuses to allow his intelligence to be insulted and will not stand to be taken advantage of. Kreon realizes she is clever and has an idea of why she really wants to stay for just one more day. She holds her tongue meaning that she is speaking to Kreon of why she must stay but really in her mind she is thinking of the evil she is going to commit. Medea was able to convince Kreon to stay one more day; he fell in her trap and now has partial blame for the murder of Medea’s children.

ENG 225-CA01

8. "Ah, come, Medea, [...]/ And women, though most helpless in doing good deeds, / Are of every evil the cleverest of contrivers.

During a reading check in class, my first answer was incorrect. In doing more research, I have discovered that this phrase is actually a part of a monologue of Medea. One of the main things I noticed was that Medea was very bitter in the end of her monologue. She shows her bitterness by saying,"You see how you are treated. Never
Shall you be mocked by Jason's Corinthian wedding."(Medea 403-404) I think one of the main things Medea is trying to do is justify her reasons for killing her children. She wants to remind herself that this is for the best of her children so that they will not be harmed by Jason as she was. The main thing I found interesting about this theme was that it is very similar to a very popular theme today. She is almost "killing people in the name of God." She is justifying a horrible deed. This could be a very interesting topic for a paper!

Since i do not have a book, I used the following text availiable online through Hartford College:

triceratops.brynmawr.edu/dspace/bitstream/10066/1338/2/Euripides.doc

Group #4
“We women are the most unfortunate creatures./ Firstly, with an excess of wealth it is required/ For us to buy a husband and take for our bodies / A master; for not to take one is even worse.”

Medea speaks here. She is devastated after Jason married another woman. She makes a very strong statement here about the role of men vs. women. We see the female character come forward in a man-dominated society. In this aspect, we should also consider the fact that Medea is not only a woman but also a foreigner in Corinth. Still, she is fearless to come forward and make the statement. We have to credit Euripides here as a master of disguise – I mean, isn’t in reality him speaking through the character of Medea behind a waterfall of emotions. Magnificent!

Eng 225
MWF 12:30-1:20

9. "[...] I know that all / A man's friends leave him stone-cold if he becomes poor"

A quote from the character Jason and located on page 707. What it means is that basically friends are only friends with you while you have money but the moment that money is gone so is friendship.

The only question that I got wrong was question 1, to which the correct answer is D.

Briana Brown
September 10, 2008
Lit 225
Prof Hobbs

1. “This is indeed the greatest salvation of all--- / For the wife not to stand apart from the husband. / But now there’s hatred everywhere, Love is diseased.”

This part of “Medea,” the nurse is the one speaking these few lines. She is saying in a poetic form how Medea show stand by her husband Jason, even though he has chosen not to have her. Medea still loves Jason with everything she has but now her love has turned into hatred. She even seems to grow some sort of hatred toward her children. Jason has broke this promise they made together to be man and wife but, yet he sees another woman. Medea grows bitter and cold.

Anna R
Engl 225
CA01
Dr. Hobbs

Quote 5.
Page 701, line 293
After Jason left her, Medea felt nothing but revenge and bitterness. She knew he left her and their two children for Glauce, Kreon’s daughter, in order to marry her and start a family with her. When she talks to Kreon, he tells her that he is scared she might do something to his daughter and her new family. Obviously Medea has nothing but the feeling of revenge in her and wants to kill all of the people who broke her heart and had to do with her misery. From what I can understand from the lines Medea speaks, she doesn’t want Kreon to think that she is smart, since in her opinion people who are smarter then others feel hated. “It will make them objects of envy and ill-will” (295). Thus, she doesn’t want Kreon to think she is smart and maybe figure out what she has planned for his daughter and her family.

Walter Perkins
Eng 225
CA01
Dr. Hobbs

6. “A sharp-tempered woman, or, for that matter, a man,/ Is easier to deal with than the clever type/ Who holds her tongue.”

A. Kreon said this quote and was talking about Medea. This quote is found on page 702.
B. Kreon was talking about Medea in this quote as he elaborates on how it is easier to read or predict someone who is emotional than someone who is quiet and bite their tongue. He says this because the ones who wear their emotion on their sleeve can be predicted while the quiet ones can never be predicted and are usually the ones most dangerous.

Quote:
12. […] grief is gain when you cannot mock it.
1. Who said the quote and consider why the said it?
2. Explain the context of the quote and does it have a meaning behind it.

Answer: The quote above was said by Medea to Jason after she poisoned their children. Medea’s actions and her reasoning behind harming her children was all because of the way Jason treated her and the bitterness she felt towards him. The line before spoken by Jason “You feel the pain yourself. You share my sorrow”, this shows the hurt Jason is feeling at this moment from the loss of his children. The quote shows how much hurt Medea has inside for Jason; it provides the reason behind her actions. Causing grief to the extreme of hurting the person deep enough to make them continue to feel sorrow for as long as they lived is what Medea had in mind for Jason. Killing the children was the best way to get back at him for the grief she felt when he left her for another women. Medea’s bitterness as well as anger towards Jason drove her to do what she felt was the best way to get back at him for what he has done to her.
Source: Book A Page 723 lines 1335-1340

S.Tavares
Eng 225 12:30-1:20

The Tutor and The Nurse.
Talk about the fact that Jason of the Argonauts is willing to break ties with his mistress’ (Media) children, in order to promote his personal social status. The reason he decides to do this is because he never officially married Media in addition her royalty status does not apply because she is from a barbarian culture. Making the marriage to the new woman more valuable because he will now be recognized as royalty in his native culture. Based on lines 85-88 one can infer that the tutor does not believe that the nurse knows the “basic knowledge” of, everyone’s out for themselves.

John A. 225 01

Response to Question Number 8:

I feel as though in this quote king Aegeus is asking for Medea's help to do evil. In this quote he is basically telling her that she is not known for or good at doing good deeds but he glorifys her for being so good at being able to think up wicked schemes and deeds. This quote in itself adds to why in this play Medea is viewed as the villan.

D.J. Garry
Dr. Hobbs
English 225 Ca. 01
9 September 2008
Medea Quiz Makeover
4. “We women are the most unfortunate of creatures. / Firstly, with an excess of wealth it is required / For us to buy a husband and take for our bodies / A master; for not to take one is even worse.”

Firstly, Medea is the character that is quoted in this passage. She is stating this because she is unhappy with the status that women have in her society. She feels that she is not in control of her relationship, and that women are secondary to men. She also speaks about how men are the ones that go out into battle, and the women have to be children. She would rather go into battle then to bear children, and then be left with them. She is basically unsettled with her spot in society. I am sure that many women felt the same at the time, and this is also a major theme throughout the rest of the play.

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*NOTE* The deadline for this particular assignment has now passed. Any comments listed below are *ONLY* for the reposting of comments that I specifically asked to be revised or are ones from non-student posters. Any 'student' posts below that missed the assignment deadline will not get credit for the assignment. ~ Dr. Hobbs