The Alienation of Medea

In Euripides's Medea, Medea is continuously expressed as an outsider with separate characteristics than that of the general public and because of this is alienated from the society around her. Many different attributes add up to this exile from her country and others. The fact that she is woman and foreign has much to do with her isolation.During Ancient Greece times, “foreign residents were encouraged to come to Athens but were rarely admitted to the rights of full citizenship, which was a jealously guarded privilege” (Warner footnote 2, p. 700). Since the Athenian rights and regulations were made for men, “the women had few privileges and almost no legal rights” (Warner footnote 3, p. 700). In fact the male foreigner had more privileges then the local woman (Euripides p. 694). Medea only sought for the rights of everyone else and because of that she was considered different and was avoided by others. Men were to be above the women, but Medea knew she had to rise above to get ...