Despite her 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 complicated by Euripides' appeal to the reader's sympathy for her situation. Medea's goal of revenge is permanently intertwined with the sympathetic presentation that Euripides displays at the beginning of the play. By presenting Medea to readers first and foremost as a victim, Euripides opens the way to a complex but indeterminate line of thought regarding the morality of her actions. Euripides ensures that the reader will question not only Medea's gruesome revenge, but also his 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, compared to Euripides' initial portrayal of Medea, her actions may swing towards the justified. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay By first presenting readers with the image of Medea suffering great loss, her subsequent revenge plot is made less black and white. Euripides opens the play with a nurse lamenting Medea's current gloomy state. Through this nurse's monologue Medea is described as Jason's once compassionate wife, who now suffers gravely from his betrayal. Euripides immediately invokes our sympathy when the nurse describes in detail both Medea's love for Jason and her grief because of it: “Then my mistress/ Medea, would never have sailed/ to the towers in the land of Iolcus/ the her heart passionately in love with Jason" (9-12). Interestingly, Euripides does not dispel the possible issues raised by Medea's violence even in this introductory scene. Indeed, he manages to present Medea's past misconduct in the midst of his appeal to the reader's sympathy. The nurse continues: «She would never have convinced those women/ daughters of Pelias, to kill their father/ and she would not have come to live in Corinth/ with her husband and her children – much loved/ in exile by those whose children land where she had moved./ She gave all sorts of help to Jason” (13-18). In these lines Euripides provides an account of Medea's cruelty juxtaposed with her compassion, devotion, and help to Jason. Euripides paints an honest picture of Medea's violence, but 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 in the introduction of the work. The nurse forces the reader to appreciate Medea's suffering more powerfully as she continues: “Their fair love has grown sick, sick, for Jason/ Leaving their children and my mistress/ Lying on a royal wedding bed” ( 22-24). These lines increase the reader's sympathy for Medea but also introduce Jason as the unjust cause of her suffering. Euripides uses the character of Jason in stark contrast to the wounded Medea. The nurse describes Medea's current state: “As for Medea/ that poor woman, in her misfortune, cries out/ repeating her oaths, remembering the great trust/ in that right hand with which she pledged her love/ She continues to call the gods to witness/how Jason returns his favors” (26-31). As this lament continues, the description of the severity of Medea's condition also continues. By portraying Medea as dishonored and disgraced, Euripides also establishes a sense of injustice. The emphasis is on Medea's anguish but above all on her betrayal. Furthermore, in the lines yes.