When considering this question, students will first need
to think about the ancient source in which they are encountering Medea. Several
different sources tell the story of Medea killing her children (e.g., Euripides' Medea,
Seneca's Medea, Ovid's Metamorphoses).
Euripides' version
of the story is the most famous. In that play, Medea is shown as wavering between
killing her children by Jason and sparing their lives. At around lines 1079-1080 in
Euripides' Medea, the title character indicates that she knows what she is doing is
dreadful, but that her anger is too strong to overcome those
feelings.
Also, Medea has a very strong sense of pride and
she does not want to be laughed at or mocked, especially after being divorced by Jason.
So, to retaliate against Jason and ensure that she does not become a source of laughter
for her enemies, Medea takes away what is most precious to him, his male
children.
Medea's children were innocent, but in her
mind destroying them was the most effective way to get back at Jason, who would have to
live for the rest of his life knowing that his divorce of Medea led to the deaths of his
sons.
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