Essay on Medea

In Medea ( à souligner), more than in most Greek tragedies; the confrontation between the Greek and the barbarian world is central to our understanding of the play's messages. Indeed the conclusion that can be drawn from the result of this fight brings great support to the playwright's point of the view. In Medea ( à souligner), Euripides repeatedly creates contrasts between the Greek and the barbarian world to show that the latter is far more powerful and wicked. Throughout the tragedy, mentions of the barbarian world are aloways associated to Medea, its only "representative" in the play. She is furthermore a living symbol for everything that stands ouside of the realm of the Greek civilization. The native woman stands for the wilderness in Heart of Darkness ( à souligner)in much the same way. Therefore the characterization of Medea also gives us hints about the nature of the barbarian world. To a certain extant, Jason alos stand for fighting civilization This explains why the confrontation between Jason and Medea is an excellent occasion for Euripides to compare their two worlds. The contrast between these two characters' personalities is the most evident example of the wedge between the barbarian and the Greek worlds coexisting in this play.