What type of study is this?

This is a Qualitative study (also classified as: Descriptive Analysis).

September 10, 2025Open Access

Feminism in Euripides’ Play Medea

Key Points

Medea's character exemplifies radical feminism, demonstrating active resistance against patriarchal norms.
The study reveals that Euripides portrays women as thoughtful, feeling, and action-oriented subjects.
Through Medea, Euripides raises enduring feminist issues relevant to contemporary society.
This analysis utilizes feminism theory to interpret the complex representation of women in Greek drama.

Abstract

Ancient Greek drama often reflects a patriarchal social structure that places women in a subordinate position. However, in Euripides' works, especially the play Medea, there is a complex representation of women that goes against the social norms of the time. This phenomenon is interesting to analyze in the context of feminism. This study aims to explore the representation of feminist values in drama of Medea, in this drama to understand how the female character, Medea, in these works shows a rebellious attitude towards patriarchal norms. This research uses a qualitative approach with descriptive analysis method. The primary data source is Euripides' play Medea, while feminism theory is used as an analytical framework to interpret Medea's role and attitude. In Medea's play, the main characters show strong feminist values, especially Radical feminism which is mostly shown by Medea (40%), cultural feminism (20%), Intersectional feminism (15%), socialist feminism (10%), liberal feminism (10%), anarchist feminism (5%). The findings show that Euripides progressively portrays women not only as passive figures, but also as active subjects capable of thinking, feeling, and acting against oppressive norms. The character of Medea in particular reflects the strength of women in the face of betrayal and abandonment, while raising feminist issues that are relevant today. Euripides' work, through this approach, can be read as a reflection of the early awareness of women's struggles in a patriarchal societyMedea's role and attitude. In Medea's play, the main characters show strong feminist values, especially Radical feminism which is mostly shown by Medea (40%), cultural feminism(20%), Intersectional feminism (15%), socialist feminism (10%), liberal feminism(10%), anarchist feminism (5%). The findings show that Euripides progressively portrays women not onlyaspassive figures, but also as active subjects capable of thinking, feeling, and actingagainstoppressive norms. The character of Medea in particular reflects the strength of women inthefaceof betrayal and abandonment, while raising feminist issues that are relevant today. Euripides' work, through this approach, can be read as a reflection of the early awareness of women'sstruggles in a patriarchal society

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