Medea: The Monomythic Antihero Cycle

Paper Summary:

This paper defines Medea as the anti-hero of the anti-monomyth. The author traces the stages of the myth of Medea and parallels them with the stages in a typical monomyth. By drawing the parallels, the author is able to show that the Medea myth is a parody of the standard monomyth, showing the phases play out in a manner that is antithetical to the typical monomyth.

From the Paper:

"Joseph Campbell might well turn over in his grave to hear Medea's final murder of her children described as an example of the monomyth. Certainly, if one were to take into account other moments of Medea's life and her adventures with the Argonauts, it would be possibly --though difficult-- to make such an argument seriously. However, arguing that Medea's tale as told by Euripides is an example of the monomyth at work seems rather blind to the fact that the hero cycle is meant to be about the exaltation, rather than the denial, of life. The problem may be as simple as the fact that Medea is female. Many critics have noted that, "Joseph Campbell is widely acclaimed for his conception of the hero's journey. However it addresses only half the population by excluding females," (Johnson) and that as such a different schema may be necessary for approaching a woman's experience. Medea is not a hero-she is the goddess or temptress without whose aid a hero neither rises nor falls."

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