What gives tragic literature its closeness to human nature is that the line between being a tragic villain and a tragic hero is extremely thin. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One question this statement is sure to raise is whether there is such a thing as a hero or a villain or whether these terms are defined by society's ideals. Tragedies like Macbeth or Oedipus Rex feature a character with heroic traits who falls victim to a personal flaw or external circumstance that ultimately pushes that character to become a villain. Macbeth's greed and hunger for power are the causes of his descent into madness and wickedness, and Oedipus falls victim to fate due to his pride and ultimately ends up gouging out his own eyes and running into exile. A similar progression can also be followed in Euripides' Medea. Medea is a play about a woman, Medea, who is betrayed by her husband, Jason, and expelled from the city. In a treacherous but cleverly planned outburst of rage, she takes revenge first by poisoning Jason's new boyfriend and then by killing her own children, thus leaving Jason without distinction. Although Medea possesses some traits of victim and heroine, it is impossible to identify her character as just one of these. To fully understand his tragic character, one must instead view him as a combination of these traits and chart his development into a villain. Medea's position as a victim of fate is already defined from the first lines of the opera, in which the nurse tells the story of Medea and Jason so far. Medea, through Hera's influence, had fallen in love with Jason and had abandoned her home, killed her brother, and taken various risks on her to save him and live with him in a foreign land (1-15). Throughout the play, Medea's bad luck is recognized more clearly by her servants and companions. According to the nurse, Medea had gone through the entire adventure to recover the Golden Fleece and had defied her family only to be abandoned by him and left "offended, and [crying] aloud over the oaths they had made to each other each other, [.. .] [inviting] the gods to bear witness to what sort of return Jason has made to his love" (20 -24). But her situation only worsens when she is informed by Creon that he will force her into exile (270-274). After a long discussion in which Medea pleads with Creon and finally gets permission to stay for a day, the chorus of Corinthian women observe that "a god has thrown suffering upon her in waves of despair" (358-9). Here we see once again that it is the companions who pity Medea and go beyond prejudice against foreigners to recognize the terrible fate of which she has become a victim. It can be assumed that women were, in a sense, oppressed in ancient Greek society and could therefore identify with Medea's problems. It is the identification with Medea that leads the chorus to see her heroic traits and even admire her as the avenger of all. women. In an attempt to ease Medea's pain, the chorus states that "God will be [her] friend in this" (156). This statement implies that the choir believes that its cause is worthy of God's support and therefore a good cause. The chorus sees Medea as a victim of unfortunate fate and is naturally inclined to support her. Although this statement is made before the chorus learns of Medea's brutal plan, it should be noted that the chorus reaffirms its support for Medea after she reveals her plans. After a monologue in which Medea finally reveals her plan and ponders how to carry it out, the chorus recites an ode about the oppression of women: "Scroll?