Sympathy in Medea, Aeneid, Metamorphoses, Orlando Furioso, and Hamlet :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Sympathy in Medea, Aeneid, Metamorphoses, Orlando Furioso, and Hamlet Euripedes tugs and pulls at our emotions from every angle throughout The Medea. He compels us to feel sympathy for the characters abused by Medea, yet relieve feel sympathy for Medea as well. These conflicting feelings build a sense of wonder and anxiety about the unfolding plot. In the beginning, the Nurse reveals the recent background events that have caused Medea so much torment She herself helped Jason in every way (13) and without delay he has taken a royal wife to his bed (18). Right away we are angry with Jason for breaking his wedding vows, and we are building up sympathy for Medea as the Nurse describes her acts of suffering. When we first see Medea, she speaks passionately to the women of Corinth and convinces them to side with her. She evokes their sympathy by drawing further attention to her suffering and speaking in terms that bring them all to common ground. Aegeus becomes Medeas first victim whe n he, unknowingly, provides the final building block in her plan for revenge against Jason. We sympathize for Aegeus in his ignorance. Medea now has confidence in her plan, so she reveals it to the women of Corinth. She is going to send her children to Jasons bride with a poisoned dress that will make her die in agony. We are still compelled to sympathize with Medea at this point because she has justified her reasons for seeking revenge. However, the princess is oblivious to Medeas plot she will accept the gift for its beauty then meet an unexpected, anguish death. The image of pain and agony elicits our sympathy as well. Medea presents her most perverse speech when she explains how she will kill her own children then flee Corinth. Alone, these acts provoke splendid disgust, but Euripides has developed Medeas character as a coercive force we still sympathize with her for her plight, yet we also hate her for her decisions. The women of Corinth try to comport her away from this mor bid choice, but their arguments are ineffective. Euripides employs stichomythia in the exchange between the women and Medea to show Medea breaking down boundaries between self and other, which prevent sympathy (811-819). Euripedes focuses on suffering, ignorance, and rhetoric to leave us torn in our sympathy for every character. Vergil elicits sympathy from readers in the beginning of The Aeneid when characters suffer physically and emotionally.