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Medea Act 1 Questions & Explained Quotes

1.      Explain the nurse’s perspective: The nurse is trying to be a good employee and friend to Medea and do the right thing. She is mad at Jason and wants to protect the kids that she is worried that Medea may hurt them.

Line __45_, “this is my terror: to hear her voice harking back to the children, like a fierce hound at fault. O unhappy one, They're not to blame.”

2.     Explain Medea’s emotional state: Medea is homicidal and suicidal act the same time. She wants to kill herself and she wants to hurt as many people as she can. She hates but Jason has done and is embarrassed. She feels that she has done everything for Jason, including saving his life, and he is showing her incredible disrespect so she wants to hurt him and kill herself.

Line _50__, “If any god hears me let me die. Ah, rotten, rotten, rotten: death is the only water to wash this dirt.”

3.     Explain Creon’s decision: Creon has decided to banish Medea. Later on in the same section he decides to give her just one more day but if the sun catches her there the next morning she will be killed along with her children. He is banishing her because he believes she will hurt his daughter. But she has been hurt before in the past so he decides to give her just one more day there.

Line __135_, “Exile: banishment: go where you may, Medea but here you abide no more.”

4.     Explain Jason’s reaction: Jason believes he is acting sensibly by marrying Creon's daughter. He believes that his sons would have been a king's sons and that he could help them more if he married the second wife. He believes that Medea is being irrational and emotional and thinks too highly of herself and he doesn't give her credit for as much as she has done for him.

Line _275__, “And I, having married power, could protect and favor them. And if perhaps, after many years, I become Dynast of Corinth- for that is Creon's desire, to make me his hair-our sons would have been a kings sons.”

5.     Explain Aegus’ agreement with Medea: Aegus has agreed to shelter Medea and if anybody comes for her he would protect her and not give Medea to any enemies of hers. He made this agreement because he wants children and he believes that Medea can heal him and allow him to have children.

Line __440_, “I swear by the fruitful earth and high shining heaven to protect you in Athens against all men.”

6.     Explain the position of women in society as shown in the play so far: so far in this play women seem to have no rights at all. Medea and her children are being thrown out of an entire country by the King. Women are expected to accept the fact that their husband can marry them to raise their social position in the country and when they get bored with them they're allowed to just leave without too many consequences for the men.

Line(s) __35_, “They were saying that Creon the Lord of this land, intends to drive out Medea and the children with her, these innocent boys, out of this house and out of Cornith, and they must wander through the wild world homeless and helpless.”

What inconvenient truths about human nature do you see in the play so far? (10 points) Medea is so mad she is willing to kill everybody around her just to make them hurt as much as she does. She is even willing to kill her own children, even though they haven't done anything wrong, just because she wants to punish Jason and she knows that if she kills her children Jason will be devastated. She is tricking everybody in the play and thinking she's okay with being exiled but really she plans to kill Jason's new wife and her father. This shows us that human nature doesn't always make sense. Medea isn't making sense right now because she's so full of rage. Jason in the play shows us what selfishness looks like in human nature. He is so selfish and wants to be a rich King that he is willing to walk away from his two children and his wife to get what he wants. He doesn't even seem to love this new wife he just wants to be rich and powerful.