Despite his violent transgressions, Euripedes paints Medea as a victim from the beginning to the end of the play. Even Medea's most violent act, the murder of her own children, is made complicated by Euripides' appeal to the reader's sympathy for her situation. Medea's goal of revenge is continually linked to the sympathetic presentation that Euripides shows at the beginning of the play. By presenting Medea first as a victim, Euripides opens the way to a complex but indeterminate reflection on the morality of her actions. Euripides guarantees that the reader will question not only Medea's gruesome revenge, but also her induced sympathy for Medea. Euripides uses this manipulation by presenting Medea as a victim of Jason's cruelty and indifference. The reader's response is complicated by the fact that, relative to Euripides' initial depiction of Medea, her actions may lean toward justification. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original EssayBy first presenting readers with the image of Medea suffering great loss, her later plot for revenge is less black and white. Euripides opens the play with a nurse lamenting Medea's current morose state. Through this nurse's monologue, Medea is portrayed as Jason's once compassionate wife, who now suffers gravely from his betrayal. Euripides immediately appeals to our sympathy when the nurse details both Medea's love for Jason and the pain that results from it: "Then my mistress/ Medea, would never have gone/ to the towers of the land of Iolcus/ her heart passionately in love with Jason” (9-12). Interestingly, Euripides does not dispel possible problems with Medea's violence, even in this introductory scene. In fact, he manages to present Medea's past misbehavior while appealing to the reader's sympathy. The nurse continues: “She would never have convinced these women/daughters of Pelias to kill their father/and she would not have come to live in Corinth/with her husband and her beloved children/in exile by those whose land where she had moved./ She gave all kinds of help to Jason” (13-18). In these lines, Euripides recounts Medea's cruelty juxtaposed with her compassion, devotion, and help toward Jason. Euripides paints an honest picture of Medea's violence, but he skillfully sets aside the image of her as a loving wife and mother. In this way, Euripides leaves the reader with the responsibility of weighing Medea's crimes against her suffering, even as early as the play's introduction. The nurse forces the reader to weigh Medea's suffering all the more powerfully as she continues: "Their beautiful love has become sick, sick, for Jason/ leaving his own children and my mistress/ is lying on a wedding bed royal” (22-24). These lines reinforce the reader's sympathy for Medea but also present Jason as the unjust cause of her suffering. Euripides uses the character of Jason as a stark contrast to the injured Medea. The nurse describes Medea's current state: "As for Medea/ this poor lady, in her disgrace, cries/ repeating her oaths, recalling the great trust/ in this right hand with which he swore his love/ She never ceases to call the gods to witness/how Jason returns his favors” (26-31). As this lament continues, so does the description of the severity of Medea's condition. By describing Medea as disgraced and dishonored, Euripides also establishes a sense of injustice. The emphasis is placed on Medea's anguish but above all on her betrayal. Additionally, the lines indicate that Medea appeals to the gods for an explanation of the injustice of the.