She despoils him not only of two children, but also of a wife, a father-in-law, and a kingdom. For all her stoicalness, though, she has one weakness, and it happens to be the focus of all her malice: Jason. Other persons matter not to her; any emotions she may feel for them are fleeting. Despite this, Jason, of all the individuals in the world, has managed to cultivate in Medea an enmity so overwhelming that she spends every waking moment devising new means with which to enact her sick justice. Nora Helmer is the very epitome of a reprobate in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House.
Medea, the main character of the tragedy, was an extremely radical anti-heroine who continues to inspire both admiration and fear in the readers today. Euripides makes one sympathize with Medea's downtrodden state and applaud her strength and intelligence. However, her bloody and vengeful rampage shocks and unsettles audiences even to this day. Throughout the play, Medea interacts with the dominant males in the storyline. She defies both her husband and her king.
Callisto had vowed to remain a virgin forever but Zeus deceived her by taking the form of Artemis and he was able to bring Callisto close enough to force himself upon her. This, like many of Zeus’ infidelities left Callisto with child and more tragedy to come. Upon learning of this particular case, as was common in the others as well, Hera enacted a plot of terrible vengeance on Callisto and her child. Zeus did nothing to mitigate his wife’s wrath. Nearly every case of Zeus’ philandering resulted in at least one illegitimate child to each mother and in nearly every case involving a mortal woman, Hera’s wrath followed.
Euripides can arguably be a proto-feminist, as he intends Medea to be seen as a barbarian troubled by Greek culture, due to her outsider nature, she cannot survive in not only this Greek environment, but an environment ran by men. She is ultimately a product of her surroundings, proving that women were used by Greek men for their own amusement. Euripides’ intent to prove that Medea’s story was one of a betrayed mother, rather than a monstrous one, occurs in Medea’s interactions with other people. One of the first instances of this occurring comes from Nurse’s interpretations of Medea’s character, when she demands, “What did I say, dear Children? Your mother frets her heart and frets it to anger.
Pearl symbolizes evil in the story by representing God's punishment of Hester's sin, symbolizing the guilt and the scarlet letter that controls her behavior and defying Puritan laws by being cheerful and associating with nature. Pearl is a greater punishment then Hester’s “A”. First, Pearl represents God's punishment by her mocking and nagging of Hester. This is shown throughout the novel she sometimes seemed to her mother as almost a witch baby (Hawthorne 88).Second, Pearl is a baffling mixture of strong emotions with a fierce temper and a capacity for evil; with Pearl, Hester's life became one of constant nagging, and no joy. This is proven when Hester remarks to herself, "Oh Father in heaven - if thou art still my father - what is this being which I have brought into the world" (Hawthorne 89).Thirdly, Pearl represents the sins of both Hester and Dimmesdale.
Throughout the tragedy, one may develop sympathy for the character of Cassandra. Ultimately, in mist of Clytemnestra seeking justice in the play and Cassandra thus suffering, Aeschylus makes Cassandra a character worthy of compassion from the audience. She is primarily an innocent victim taken as Agamemnon’s prisoner while cursed by Apollo for not bearing him a son as promised. She is fully aware of her impending death and encounters her death at the hands of Clytemnestra courageously. The play would not have the equal dramatic effects, gory details, and overall impact on the audience with the absence of Cassandra’s role, and therefore, she is crucial to the intense
She insults his masculinity greatly, by calling him a coward. She says “Live a coward in thine own esteem”. In this patriarchy time, this mockery was a disgrace to Macbeth, thus he chose to act, rather than have his honour snatched from him. The imperative Lady Macbeth uses in ‘live’ derives that she has order and capability over her husband. Furthermore, in Aristotle’s theory he makes
“Which of you shall we say doth love us most” Act 1, Scene 1, Line 52. Through this, both King Lear’s and Gloucester’s rage and rashness can be seen, resulting in them both loosing sight of what is important. Despite this, their weak characteristics have a small influence on their tragedy and suffering. After King Lear bestows all his possessions to his daughters, rather than being grateful, Goneril and Regan’s lust for power causes them to turn on their father. In Act 2, Scene 4, Goneril and Regan diminish his retinue, disregard his authority and Goneril instructs her servants to treat King Lear with the utmost disrespect.
According to Brown, “The dramatist depicts incidents which arouse pity and fear for the protagonist [Antigone], then during the course of the action, he resolves the major conflicts, bringing the plot to a logic and foreseeable conclusion (Brown, para 5). The tragic hero in Antigone is Creon. Tragic heroes are not all good and not all bad. Creon suffers a great deal due to his tragic flaw and destructive pride. Creon believes the gods make him suffer the loss of his wife and son as punishment for his pride.
I must face this thing. Oh, but what a weak woman even to admit to my mind these soft arguments... I know what evil i intend to do, but stronger than all my after thoughts is my furty. Fury that brings upon mortals the greatest evils.” (34-35) Though her incredible desire to rectify the situation drives her to commit the dreadful act of infanticide, we do see Medea