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... nge, Othello's true being comes out one more time. This is shown when he states, before killing Desdemona, "Yet I'll not shed her blood, nor scar that whether skin of hers than snow, and smooth as monumental alabaster). This statement shows that deep inside of him he wishes to do her no harm, it is only Iago's twisted plan that is pushing him to kill her. After learning of her faithfulness though, Othello kills himself because of the wrong he has done. This act was not necessarily viewed as immoral, but heroic, in Othello's time.
He acts on inner necessity. He slays Desdemona because he cannot live with someone who was untrue. Othello has the obvious heroic qualities of courage and strength, yet also embraces jealousy and pride, two sins of today's time, which would outweigh his strength and courage, changing him into a savage man. Jealousy in our time and also in Othello's time rises from love. It is the fear of seeing ones possessions in the hands of another, whether it is animate or inanimate. Jealousy brings with it hate and revenge, such as in Othello's case and the numerous cases of today's world which we read in newspapers or view on television of the ultimate revenge taken upon someone they love.
Every misdeed carried out, like Othello's, is highly immoral and inexcusable in today's day and age, yet vengeance was seen as the right way to deal with another's infidelity. The most inexcusable of all the wrongdoing of these characters was that of Medea. This main character in Euripides great tragic play, "Medea", commits the most unspeakable crime that could ever be committed by a human being. Medea is the protagonist in the play, the tragic hero. As an outcast, Medea draws sympathy from her audience, the Chorus of Corinthian women, even though her plans range from deceitful to utterly repellent. In the beginning of the play, the reader learns of the hardship that Medea has under gone, the unfaithfulness of her husband.
The maid speaks, "For deserting his own children and my mistress, Jason has taken a royal wife to his bed, the daughter of the ruler of this land, Creon. (Euripides 1) To this Medea is already seeking revenge. The maid tells of how Medea "has turned from her children and does not like to see them" and how she is "afraid she may think of some awful thing, for her heart is violent. " (2) This in turn foreshadows what is to come. As the play goes on Medea's plan gets more intricate and devious, "By exiling me, he (Creon) has given me this one day to stay here and in this I will make dead bodies of three of my enemies-father, daughter and my husband" (13). Medea is premeditating these murders, which only makes the actions taken, worse.
After considering for a long period of time, she decides the best thing to do is to take the lives of her own children, the! most unthinkable, immoral, inexcusable crime. Medea goes on to murder the princess and her father than commits the ultimate crime, "As quickly as I may kill my children and start away from this land, and not by wasting time, to suffer my children, to be slain by another hand is less kindly to them... This must be so, then I, their mother, shall kill them. " (40). When her plan is complete, Medea escapes, with the bodies of her dead children to a land of safety, never to feel remorse for her actions. These extreme acts taken by the main character are not only inexcusable, but also immoral even in her time.
In Medea's first speech to the Chorus of Corinthian women, she speaks of her own humiliation and plight. She goes on to call on their empathy as women to understand the wrongs done by her husband. She begs them to help her obtain her revenge on Jason, "If I can find some means of devise of any scheme to pay my husband back for what he has done to me-him and his father-in-law and the girl who married him-Just to keep silent... No other soul can hold so many thoughts of blood. " (9) The chorus believes her taking revenge on her husband is suitable due to his acts, "This I will promise.
You are in the right, Medea, in paying your husband back. I am not surprised at you for being sad. " (9). As the play goes on, and the chorus learns of her planned course of action, they try to deter her from committing these crimes, due to its immorality, "Since you have shared with us the knowledge of your plan, I both wish to help you and support the normal ways of mankind, and tell you not to do this thing. " (26). Medea feels this is the only way to instill revenge. "I can do no other thing" (26), she simply replies. Medea's intention to slaughter her own children is horrifying, in present time and in her time, due to the natural maternal instinct, to protect their children, therefore, the murder of ones children is unnatural and highly inexcusable no matter what the circumstances. The main reason Medea inflicted all of this pain on Jason is because of her overwhelming sense of pride, "For it is not bearable to be mocked by enemies.
So it must happen, " Medea continues to say "Let no one think of me a weak one, feeble-spirited, a stay-at-home, but rather just the opposite, one who can hurt my enemies and my friends for the lives of such persons are much remembered. " (26). Medea does not want to be known as a delicate person, but as a dominant woman. For this reason, she commits these three immoral acts. The Decameron, "Tenth Day, Tenth Story", "Othello" and "Medea" are all tragic works, with seemingly tragic heroes. All three "heroes", Gualtieri, Othello, and Medea, hurt someone close to them in order to still retain their pride or end their jealousy towards another.
Although many of the trivial standards of the present world are different than that of when the authors were writing, there are many substantial similarities, therefore judging a character based on only the morals of today would be unjust.
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Research essay sample on Chorus Of Corinthian Women Othello And Medea Time
