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Gonzlez 1
Hctor Gonzlez
Melissa Gonzlez
Literature Humanities13 November 2009
2.) MADNESS vs. RATIONALITY. Greek culture, despite its Golde
A!ereput"tio #or r"tio"lit$, is cost"tl$ produci! e%"&ples
o#&"dess, irr"tio"lit$, "d t'e tr"scedet. (ick to te%ts
"doutlie t'e #uctios o# &"dess "d*or r"tio"lit$ it'i t'e&.
+'"tsorts o# isi!'ts does &"dess "d*or r"tio"lit$ e"le- Does
&"dessever eco&e r"tio"lit$ or vice vers"- +'"t does
&"dess do to "societ$- +'"t does re"so do to " societ$- +'"t is
t'e "ttitude o#$our te%t to"rds t'e &"d "d*or t'e supre&el$
r"tio"l/ "re t'e$d"!ers to e suppressed, oders to e veer"ted, or
so&et'i! &oresutl$ co#i!ured- Is t'ere "$ "##ili"tio etee
&"dess "d t'e#e&iie !eder i $our te%ts-
In terms of wat constitute !roun"s for ma"ness# te most
$revailin! features of ma"ness
are establise" as tus% acievin! some sort of ob&ect or !oal
trou! means of "es$eratel'
ci"in! or un(nowin!l' "rivin! awa' te love" ones or frien"s in
one)s life* +us# ma"ness is
not so muc insanit' as it is a sort of tem$orar' bli!t in
&u"!ment* ,ll umans e-$erience la$ses
suc as tese were e or se will unsus$ectin!l' e-$erience erratic
beavior suc as (illin!
love" ones# abstainin! from se-# ma(in! "ramatic e-its in
cariots# causin! an overall usur$ation
of male "ominance# etc*.uri$i"es) tra!ic eroine Me"ea in te
tra!e"' b' te same name /uintessentiall'
conve's a "ar(er# more irrational ma"ness* Me"ea is not so muc
ma" in erself# but rater se
is tra$$e" insi"e of er own tou!ts an" macinations* +ese
$ressures# suc as te "esire for
ason)s love or te "esire to acclimate erself to a forei!n ome on
alien territor'# "rive Me"ea to
live in a $erfect imbalance of conscious an" subconscious* Me"ea
is aware of wat se is "oin!
wit ever' a$$earance se ma(es in te $la'# 'et se "oes not
refrain from !rowin! ever more
vicious* $ecificall'# se claims in eate" "iscourse between ason
an" se tat no one love" te
cil"ren more tan se conscious an" tat is w' it urts er so muc to
ave (ille" tem
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Gonzlez 2
subconscious* Me"ea im$risons erself witin er min"4a ver'
"an!erous isolation wic
furter $aral'zes er abilit' to consciousl' reason*In matters of
love an" uman foll'# a female arbiter of tese conce$ts e-ists
in
,risto$anes) L'sistrata in is come"' of te same name* L'sistrata
is te i"eal so$ist of er
time a$$ealin! to er fellow women trou! retoric an" lo!ic*
L'sistrata)s abilit' to
"emocraticall' !ater women from not &ust er (in!"om# but
from te rival (in!"om of $arta
reveals an incre"ible wealt of (nowle"!e witin er min"*
L'sistrata ta(es a"vanta!e of uman
foll' in tat se (nows wat ma(es someone reall' 5tic(6* 7or
e-am$le# L'sistrata is able to
successfull' alt a war b' merel' removin! a convenient $leasure
from te lives of te men
aroun" er% se-* L'sistrata)s wealt of reason contributes to er
abilit' to fruitfull' cause u$roar
trou! Greece*
Me"ea# of course bein! a woman# receives numerous insults on er
5$lace6 an" wat er
5$lace6 is* ason# 8reon# te corus% ever' sin!le one of tese
entities wait for more
"omesticate" attitu"es from Me"ea* Me"ea)s ma"ness is constantl'
reference" as 5te
wic(e"ness of women6 wen reall' it is 5te wic(e"ness of
thiswoman6* Me"ea)s ellraisin!
attitu"e an" constant state of avoc causes wi"es$rea"
$an"emonium trou!out te (in!"om of
8orint# s$ecificall' witin te (in!)s $alace* Me"ea)s ma"ness#
wic is more or less an
unre/uite" love !one terribl' wron!# instills $anic in te corus
an" te ma&or $la'ers in tat
te' fear for teir ownlives* However# te lives of 8orintian men
an" women are of no
im$ortance to Me"ea* :it suc meto"olo!' in tou!t# it is safe to
sa' tat Me"ea is not
entirel' ma"* +rue# Me"ea "oes urt te innocent li(e er cil"ren
or Glauce# but se is still
inerentl' aware of er ob&ect* Me"ea "oes not commit erself
to ran"om slau!ter but instea"
se em$lo's a s'stematic rationalit' in coosin! victims relevant
to er situation* If an'tin!#
Me"ea)s ma"ness is an e-a!!eration of te effects of love on uman
foll'*
