Summary of Medea
“Medea” is a modern retelling of the ancient Greek myth in which Medea is portrayed as a victim, rather than a child murderer. After helping Jason secure the Golden Fleece and escape from her father, King Aeëtes of Colchis, Medea accompanies him to Corinth, where Jason is celebrated as a hero by King Creon and his court. Medea, however, is regarded with suspicion as a foreigner and outsider. As tensions within Corinth grow, rumours begin to circulate about her, and she gradually becomes a scapegoat for the city’s troubles.
Reasons to read Medea
Christa Wolf rejected the traditional image of Medea as a child murderer and drew on interpretations of the myth that predate Euripides’ famous tragedy, in which Medea does not kill her children. Wolf portrays Medea as the victim of a patriarchal and xenophobic society. Christa Wolf was one of the most influential German writers of the post-war period and one of the leading literary voices of East Germany during the Cold War. Her best-known works include “Cassandra”, “Patterns of Childhood”, “The Quest for Christa T.”, “Divided Heaven” and “Medea”. She received numerous literary honours, including the Georg Büchner Prize in 1980. For similar retellings of ancient Greek myths, see also “The Penelopiad” by Margaret Atwood, “House of Names” by Colm Tóibín, “The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller, “The Silence of the Girls” by Pat Barker, and “The King Must Die” by Mary Renault.
Setting: Ancient Corinth (Greece)
Original title: Medea: Stimmen
Year of publication: 1996
Nr of pages: 208
