Medea Study Guide PDF

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Medea Study Guide...

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Medea Study Guide Setting: set in the city of Corinth, in front of Jason and Medeas’ house, and shows the bloody dissolution of a family Characters: Glauce - Jason’s new wife and the daughter of Creon, King of Corinth Jason - gold digger Medea - got exiled by Jason Creon - King of Corinth Aegeus - King of Athens, offers Medea sanctuary in his city in exchange for her knowledge of certain drugs Summary: - Starts out in conflict… Jason has abandoned Medea and the 2 children → he remarries Glauce - BACKTRACK… Jason and Medea seek exile in Corinth + they settle down and gain fame and respectability → Jason’s abandonment crushed Medea emotionally **to the degree that she curses her own existence and those of her 2 children** - Creon exiles Medea and her 2 children in fear that she’ll try to get revenge → Medea pleads for one more day before she leaves → this gives her enough time to PLOT for the murder of Creon, Gluace, and Jason - Jason offers Medea money to help her get started in a different city but she says NO and doesn’t want anything of him - Aegeus (King of Athens) happens to be in Corinth and offers Medea sanctuary in his home city in exchange for her knowledge of certain drugs that can cure his sterility → now that she has somewhere to exile to… she plots her revenge - Medea pretends to sympathize with Jason and offers Glauce “gifts” ( a coronet and a dress) → the gifts were supposedly supposed to convince Glauce to ask her father to let Medea’s children stay in Corinth → BUT the dress is actually poisoned and causes Glauce’s death → seeing this Creon decides to die by her side and absorbs the poison - A messenger tells Medea of this and she embraces it cooly → NOW Medea is anxious… she is struggling with her decision to commit infanticide (killing her children) → against the protests of the chorus, Medea murders her children and flees the scene in a dragon-pulled chariot provided by her grandfather, the Sun-God - Jason is cursing her lot → his own political agenda of leaving Medea and marrying Glauce FAILED → everything he has followed is now LOST...