Medea Cunning and Cleverness Quotes

Wise words. You could argue that the Nurse's simplistic logic makes her the smartest cookie on stage. Euripides was not only famous for taking up the cause of women but slaves as well. With his dignified portrayal of the Nurse, he's doing both at the same time.

This is one of the first recognitions in the play that Medea is a skilled woman. Her knowledge of drugs and witchcraft give her power. This makes everybody around her nervous, especially since she has a bit of a temper.

Here Medea says that she's discriminated against just because she's smart. This is undoubtedly true. Of course, she certainly doesn't help eliminate these prejudices when she uses her skills and cleverness to murder four people.

Medea plays down her knowledge in an attempt to seem less threatening to Creon. The king, however, doesn't buy this argument at first. Medea's skills are well known, as is her cunning.

It's amazing that Creon is so aware of Medea's craftiness yet he still allows her to stay in Athens for a day. This could be seen as some rather dubious plotting on the part of Euripides. His plays have often been accused of having sub-par plots, causing some scholars to place him below his contemporary, Sophocles.

Much like modern superheroes, tragic heroes and heroines are usually extraordinary in some way. Medea's "super power" is her intelligence and skills at witchcraft. When she is threatened, she turns to these abilities for protection.

It's interesting that the word "crime" is used here. The word seems like a bit out of a contradiction as Medea says elsewhere that her devilish plan is just. Perhaps, we're to view Medea's actions as both just and unjust at the same time. This kind of paradox is typical of many tragedies.

Medea's cunning is on full display when she makes Aegeus swear this oath. She knows that the Corinthians will hunt her no matter where she goes after she takes her revenge. Aegeus would never consent to harboring her if he knew what she planned. Now, however, he is bound by the gods to protect her no matter what.

Medea unveils her crafty plan to the Chorus, reminding us very much of a comic book super villain. The strategy of revealing one's diabolical scheme seems dubious. Doesn't it make it a lot easier for the hero to unravel the plan? Indeed, it never works out for Dr. Octopus. Spiderman always foils his wicked plots. Of course, Medea is the heroine of this play, not the villain, and her cunning scheme goes off without a hitch.

Medea is apparently the cleverest person in Corinth. She's easily able to manipulate Jason into believing that she's no longer mad at him, even though she's ranting and raving for days. It's sort of amazing that he falls for this so easily. The play would have a lot more dramatic tension if Medea had at least one worthy adversary.