Journal # 3 - Medea

Both Medea and Oedipus use catharsis, however they show it differently in the two plays. In Medea, the catharsis of pity starts in the beginning with our pity for Medea's situation. However we also fear her because of her past brutality and the foreshadowing near the beginning. Oedipus, on the other hand uses a different kind of catharsis. Instead of making us feel pity for him in the beginning, we wish that we were in his position, everything seems pretty good in the beginning. However, as we learn of his fate, we begin to pity and fear him, however it's not because we pity his situation, it's because we pity the presence of fate in his downfall, instead of his own actions. In Medea, we fear Medea herself, whereas in Oedipus, we fear the use of fate against us from "the gods". This is the primary difference. The pity and fear are also purged in different ways in the plays. In Oedipus, the ending and his leaving are what purges the fear, while in Medea, our hatred for Medea's character purges the pity and fear. Because of the disgusting views of her actions, the pity is purged, whereas in Oedipus, we know that he would not do those things on purpose, and the pity is pured that way.