The Role Of Family Dysfunctions and Violence in The Perception of Marriage Anonymous College

Medea, as introduced by Euripides, is known for her violent actions and domestic violations. Motivated by Jason’s unfaithfulness and wavering heart, Medea loses her sanity and eventually commits infanticide. Medea’s story is representative of many Greek works in which dysfunction and violence is used as a mechanism of illustrating different views on family and marriage. Euripides contrasts the female and male perceptions of marriage through Medea’s decision to kill her family and Jason’s actions as an unfaithful husband. While Medea sees marriage as a sacred vow, Jason dismisses the importance of marriage and cuts it down to a means of rising up in society.

In the beginning of the play, Medea falls in love with Jason, a man not of her own kind. In order to be with Jason, Medea betrays her father, abandons her home, murders Pelias, and in kindness to Jason, makes enemies of others whom there was no need to have injured (lines 483-508). She then flees with Jason and lives as refugees for the rest of her life. Medea is willing to sacrifice her own family and fortune because her heart was “on fire with passionate love for Jason” (line 7) and she commits to the “vows they made to each other, the right hands clasped in eternal...