Christa Wolf
Medea: A Modern Retelling by Christa Wolf, translated from the German by John Cullen, is not the same Medea familiar to readers of Euripides’ play by that name. In her retelling, Wolf recasts Medea as a fiercely intelligent, compassionate human being, absolved of all wrongdoing, and scapegoated for the crimes of Corinth society.
The novel unfolds in a series of first-person voices. Included are the voices of Medea, Jason, Glauce, Creon’s advisors, and Medea’s former pupil who betrays her. Each one speaks in an authentic voice, providing multiple perspectives on the same narrative. The characters are complex and conflicted; their voices individualistic. Some recognize the tension gradually building as evidence is fabricated against Medea, but they feel powerless to stop it. Others add fuel to the fire.
In Wolf’s retelling, Medea is a healer who escapes Colchis with Jason because she abhors her father’s willing sacrifice of her brother to cement his position as king of Colchis. She assumes Corinth will be a safe haven for her, not expecting to encounter Corinth’s racism, xenophobia, and gender discrimination. A foreigner and woman of color, Medea refuses to conform to Corinth’s circumscribed roles for women, alienating the people of Corinth for her assertive and non-obsequious behavior. She defies all attempts to marginalize her. And when she discovers Corinth’s political class is corrupt and harbors a dark secret kept buried from the masses, she is perceived as a danger to the political status quo. Steps are undertaken to eliminate her.
Nefarious, false accusations are drummed up against Medea to rile up the masses. The accusations are fueled by some of her own people who lie to ingratiate themselves with authority figures. Rumors spread that she caused the earthquake and the ensuing plague. Targeted as a scapegoat for all the ills befalling on Corinth, labeled a monster, Medea is put on trial, ostensibly for murdering her own brother. Found guilty, she is banished from Corinth. The Colchian refugees are persecuted, and those who survive escape to the caves. When the king’s daughter commits suicide, the real cause of her death is covered up and blamed on Medea. And in a frenzy to retaliate for Medea’ ostensible crimes, the mob stones her two children to death.
Wolf retells the story of Medea as an allegory to explore the extent to which people will go to cling to power. They will manipulate and lie to the masses, prey on their fears, stir them up into a frenzy, and offer them convenient scapegoats on which to vent their fury. Those targeted and persecuted are innocent immigrants who have been othered, marginalized, and designated as “inferiors.” They are easy targets because they are so readily identifiable.
Wolf’s retelling of the Medea story is a political tour de force. In her hands, the ancient story of Medea becomes a vehicle to explore the political machinations of those in power to retain that power. They have no consideration for the truth or for the innocent victims trampled in their wake. If they succeed in holding on to power, they ensure their version of past events survives because they will be the ones who write the history books.
Highly recommended.