Medea: Passion vs. Reason

Medea Passion vs. Reason The loves be like fire, helpful in a thousand ways and dangerous provided in genius, with their excess, stated Christian Nes enumerate Bovee a famous mid-19th century author. Logic, like whiskey, loses its respectable rear when taken in similarly large quantities, stated churchman Dunsany a famous Anglo-Irish writer during the 1900s. These quotes demonstrate a sinewy estimation in the Greek fulfil Medea written by Euripides. In the hoyden Medea, the protagonist Medea learns that her husband Jason breaks every vow and betrays her by taking other woman to bed.Feeling verbotenraged and hurt, Medea decides to take revenge. She carries out her plan successfully and the play concludes with Medea escaping off to Athens. Throughout the play, two distinct concepts of beliefs and point of views are revealed in the two main characters of the play, Medea and Jason. Medea sees the world through and through the views of fury whitheras Jason sees the world through the views of cerebrate. The main characters express an extremity of either passion or causal agent which channelizes them to their witness d possessfall moreover, through some(prenominal) Medea and Jasons actions, the strength and weakness of severally attribute is revealed.According to the Oxford dictionary, passion is defined as a strong and tho controllable emotion and a state or outburst of strong emotion. The protagonist of the play, Medea, demonstrates an excessive passion which leads her to destruction. The strongest factor that contributes to Medeas ill-judged passion is her extreme get along for Jason. In the beginning of the play the support mourns that, Medeas heart on fire with passionate spot for Jason nor would she deliver persuaded the daughters of Pelias to devour their fuss and she herself helped Jason in every way (P. 1).The protagonist passionate love for Jason deceives her thoughts and leaves her with nonhing but hope for Jasons love. Howe ver, Medeas hope strips and shatters to pieces when she learns that Jason has left over(p) field her for other woman. Medea explains to the chorus that, It has broken her heart. She is finished. (P. 8). Medea secure now wishes to die. However, Medeas suicidal brain fades away as her excessive passion feeds upon her hatred and rage which leads her to uncalled acts of revenge. She calls out to the gods to pray that she whitethorn see Jason, him and his bride and their entire place hattered for the wrong they defy to do her without cause (P. 6). Motivated by animosity, Medea successfully murders the Princess and the king. However, lost in the sea of hatred Medea then decides to kill her own children (P. 26). From her own actions, Medea destroys everything that she cares for collect to an excessive in both love and hatred. Medeas superfluous love sets her sacrifice her family, status, and home. Furthermore, Medeas actions due to hatred destroy her future. For example, to achiev e last-ditch revenge, Medea kills her own two sons to make Jason suffer.However, at the same time Medea heart the pain herself. She shares in Jasons sorrow (P. 44). The killing of her own children will make her feel a lifelong agony. For Medea, love does not simply override to abhorrence. A main cause of this sudden shift in passion is Jasons betrayal. Also to Medea, it is her redundant and hurtful pride that unleashes the hate privileged her. Many times throughout the play Medea expresses For it is not bearable to be mocked by enemies (P. 26). Medea cannot allow others to laugh at her misfortune and only through the murder of her enemies could she feel redeemed and her pride restored.Reason defined by Oxford Dictionary means to debate, understand and form judg manpowert logically. Through his own excessive occasioning, the antagonist of the story, Jason, falls to destruction. Firstly in his mind, Jason sees everything to be explained by reason. Jason betrays Medea by marryin g the Princess of Corinth. His purpose for such a cold hearted action is simply that they might live well, and not be short of anything (P. 18). To Jason, all the betraying is just a desperate act in hope to pitch what is shell for the family. Secondly, in Jasons mind he never expects Medea to act irrationally because he neglects her feelings.In Jasons eyes it would waste been for better far for men to have gotten their children in some other way, and women not to have existed (P. 18). Jason believes that the only reason and positive outcome of marriage is children. Another example is when Jason argues that, women have got such a state of mind that, if their life at darkness is good, they think they have everything but, if in that quarter things go wrong, they will take on their best and truest interest most hateful (P. 18). Jason thinks that Medea is outraged because he took another woman to chamber. In addition, because he disregardedMedeas love for him, he does not take int o consideration that it is his betrayal that outrages Medea. Having too much reasoning and too little passion, Jason is left with nothing but hopeless and misery. Jasons softness to see Medeas revenge causes him to fall from the top to the bottom deviation him with nothing no power, wealth, family, bloodlines and respect. In his last conversation with Medea, Jason cries that, for him remains to call aloud upon his fate, who will get no pleasure from his newly accustomed love, and the boys whom he begot and brought up, never shall he speak to them alive.Oh, his life is over (P. 44). Medeas final neutralise to Jasons life is providing him with a prophecy about his death. In his character, Jasons ratio of reason to passion is surely not proportional which blinds him from beholding Medeas irrationality thus his downfall resulted. Everyone in society has both passion and reason. No one has one without the other. twain passion and reason have its own strengths and weakness which e xpresses through the main characters of Medea. Through the behaviors of Medea, more strength and weakness of passion are seen.For Medea, Passion is able to become strength and motivation for her reprisal. In text, Medeas abundant love for Jason causes her to do anything for him, including sacrificing her own family. On the other hand, Medeas excessive hatred overpowers her mind and becomes overboard with her actions. For instance, Medea plans Next after killing the princess for she shall kill her own children (P. 26). Medea killing her own children will surely be the most evil act of human and all result from immoderate passion. Also, positive and prejudicial aspects of logic are shown through Jasons arguments.Strength of being rational is to be able to think about the positive and negative of things before making a decision. For example, when Jason arrives here from the land of Iolcus he is, in every kind of difficulty, he exclaims, what luckier chance could he have come acros s than this, an exile to marry the daughter of the king? (P. 18). The outcomes of Jasons plan have far more advantages than disadvantages. However, an extremity of reasoning may lead to neglecting the feelings of others. For instance, Jason neglects Medeas love. notwithstanding though both have positive and negative aspects, in Euripides view having excessive passion is better than excessive reasoning. He consummates the play with Medea having her triumph and escaping to Athens with such a chariot has Helius, her fathers father given her to defend from her enemies (P. 43). With Medea having the final victory, readers may tell that Euripides chooses passion over reason. One may think, without the ability to feel and to have emotions, human would be no different from robots. These qualities are what make one human.The play Medea justifies both Christian Nestell Bovees point, The passions are like fire, useful in a thousand ways and dangerous only in one, through their excess and Lord Dunsanys view, Logic, like whiskey, loses its beneficial effect when taken in too large quantities . The extremity of passion and reason are revealed in the play Medea. Jason played a role of a rationalist and Medea an irrationalist. Via Medeas superfluous passion, disastrous events occur in which wrong-doing and grief will accompany Medea for the rest of her life. On the other hand, Jason is left with nothing due to his acute logical mind.His inconsideration for feelings and desire for encyclopaedism are all causes of Jasons denouement. Through the events in the story, properties, reason and passion have its own strength and weakness. Too much passion could lead to poor choices. On the contrary, de trop reasoning could lead one to a stone-heart. Both Jason and Medea possess an extremity of passion or reason which proves to be their hamartia. Even though each attribute has its own strength and weakness people should have a harmonic balance between reason and passion. except then would one be ideal in making decisions. middling like in life, everything needs to have a balance.