A careful reading of Medea Medea's first public statement, a sort of "protest speech", is one of the best parts of the work and demonstrates a complex, sometimes even contradictory, representation of the genre. Medea's calm and reasoning tone, especially after subsequent outbursts of despair and hatred, provides the first demonstration of her ability to compose herself in the midst of crisis and pursue her hidden goals with great determination. This division in his personality is to some extent a gender bias. Lack of emotional restraint is "typical" of women, and strong focus on moral action is a common trait of heroes. Medea actually uses both of these traits so that her wild emotions fuel her ideals, thus producing a character who fails to fit into a clear mold. The speech itself highlights the subordinate status of women in ancient Greek society, especially in the eyes of the public. points out that women, especially "foreign" women, "require some knowledge of magic and other secret arts to exert influence over their husbands in the bedroom," argues for a kind of alternative power that women can enjoy. A power that remains invisible to men and unknown to society, but dominates everyone with unquestionable strength. Medea also provides a method for interpreting her own character towards the end of her speech (vv. 251-257): we should read her story of exile as a metaphorical exaggeration of all. the alienation of women; in fact, her entire situation, past and still future, can be read as an allegory of women's suffering and the height of tragedy it could unleash if left unattended. According to this model of interpretation, Medea portrays women's rebellion against their "misery". Such a transparent social allegory may seem forced or clichéd in our contemporary context, but in Euripides' time it would have been revolutionary, as tragedy generally spoke of the sufferings of a generic (perhaps idealized) individual, rather than an idealized individual. a group. It would be a mistake, however, to argue that Medea's speech elaborates a clearly progressive political message, since her concluding remarks appeal to women's natural talent for subtle manipulation (line 414). Although Euripides' work manifests many revolutionary political sentiments, his social criticisms remain sporadic, forming only a part of some of the many currents of thought he follows. In addition to providing a time frame that gives a sense of urgency to the play (Medea only has one day to complete her plans), the exchange between Creon and Medea introduces the theme of her intelligence.