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A review by zwiame
Médée by Pierre Corneille
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I am, and forever will be, a Medea apologist.
I am not usually a Corneille fan (Racine my beloved), because he tends to write plays that are carried by themes of self-righteousness, glory and virtue, but his version of Medea is surprisingly impeccable, in that it shows morally grey, angsty and complex characters.
Along with Cocteau's Machine Infernale and Racine's Andromaque, this is now in my top 3 of french plays.
This play, apart from being terribly well written, depicts female rage better than most modern feminist books/series/movies I've encountered. For a play that was written by a man, and in 17th century France, this is one of the most progressive, feminist works I've read.
Medea is never shown as a victim, nor as fully crazy, unlike what Jason would like everyone to believe. She is portrayed in all her complexity, all her power, all her intelligence AND all her emotional nature as well. The character isn't ever objectively shown to be a monster. On the contrary, Corneille shows how badly she's been treated, how unfair everybody's been to her, and how she has no one left to turn to.
What's outstanding about her, though, is that she doesn't wallow in self-pity as so many female characters were made to act in plays of the same time period: instead, as a capable sorceress, she takes her revenge. And it's a rash, morally grey, arguably insane revenge she takes, but you can't help but root for her.
The original story of Medea is one I love, but this was truly a masterful interpretation of the character, only elevated by the amazing style in Corneille's alexandrins.
I am not usually a Corneille fan (Racine my beloved), because he tends to write plays that are carried by themes of self-righteousness, glory and virtue, but his version of Medea is surprisingly impeccable, in that it shows morally grey, angsty and complex characters.
Along with Cocteau's Machine Infernale and Racine's Andromaque, this is now in my top 3 of french plays.
This play, apart from being terribly well written, depicts female rage better than most modern feminist books/series/movies I've encountered. For a play that was written by a man, and in 17th century France, this is one of the most progressive, feminist works I've read.
Medea is never shown as a victim, nor as fully crazy, unlike what Jason would like everyone to believe. She is portrayed in all her complexity, all her power, all her intelligence AND all her emotional nature as well. The character isn't ever objectively shown to be a monster. On the contrary, Corneille shows how badly she's been treated, how unfair everybody's been to her, and how she has no one left to turn to.
What's outstanding about her, though, is that she doesn't wallow in self-pity as so many female characters were made to act in plays of the same time period: instead, as a capable sorceress, she takes her revenge. And it's a rash, morally grey, arguably insane revenge she takes, but you can't help but root for her.
The original story of Medea is one I love, but this was truly a masterful interpretation of the character, only elevated by the amazing style in Corneille's alexandrins.