美狄亞 Medea

Wikipedia article "Medea"
中文

美狄亞 (悲劇)
強者的溫柔：塞涅卡倫理文選
pp. 101-58

美狄亞(聲音)

作者 ： （德）沃爾夫 著，朱劉華 譯 ISBN ： 7532741028 出版社 ： 上海譯文出版社 出版日期 ： 2006-12-1

作者简介 · · · · · ·

　　克里斯塔·沃尔夫 （1929- ），德国当代著名女作家，其作品因深刻的思想内涵和新颖的创作手法在德国文学史上占有重要一席，亦深受西方读者的青睐。在数十年的创作生涯里，沃尔夫几乎 囊括了德国所有的文学奖项，2002年还获得了有“文学奥斯卡奖”之称的最高奖“德国图书奖”，并多次获得诺贝尔文学奖的提名。

本書是作者繼1983年出版的《卡珊德拉》之後，又一部同類題材的重要小說，它們有異曲同工之妙，同為借用古希臘神話中的人物針砭現實生活的作品；面世後亦好評如潮，成為轟動一時的暢銷書。
千百年來，美狄亞被看成一個兇殘狠毒的壞女人，她為了愛情而不惜背棄父親和祖國；但沃爾夫筆下的美狄亞高貴、美麗和善良。作者通過演繹佔希臘神話人物的故 事，反映了以美狄亞為代表的女性對男權社會的反抗；揭示現代生活中人性的缺陷。小說從新的視角探索了德國統一後的一系列社會問題。

Classical Literature Companion: Medea

1. Greek tragedy by Euripides, produced in 431 BC. Despite its later fame it won only third prize in the dramatic competition. It deals with the later part of the story of Jason and Medea (see MEDEA above). These two have fled to Corinth after Medea has murdered Pelias for Jason's sake. Jason, ambitious and tired of his barbarian princess, has arranged to marry the daughter of Creon, king of Corinth, for prudential reasons he alleges. The desertion and ingratitude of her husband arouse savage anger in Medea and she openly declares her feelings. Creon, fearing her vengeance upon himself and his daughter, pronounces instant banishment on Medea and her two children. Medea coaxes him into allowing her one day's respite, and by a poisoned robe and diadem contrives the deaths of Jason's bride and her father. Then she kills her own children, partly to make Jason childless, partly because, since they now must surely die, it is better that it should be by her hand than by that of her enemies, who would thus triumph over her. Finally, taunting Jason in his despair, she escapes to Athens where she has secured asylum from king Aegeus (who appears earlier in the play).

2. Roman tragedy by Seneca (2), based on that of Euripides, with variations of detail. Medea's children are not sentenced to banishment; she asks for them to be allowed to accompany her into exile, but Jason's love for them prevents it. Medea thus learns where Jason is vulnerable and kills them to revenge herself on him. The play contains a famous passage in which Seneca seems to prophesy the discovery of a New World (374 ff.):

venient annis
saecula seris quibus Oceanus
vincula rerum laxet, et ingens
pateat tellus Tethysque novos
detegat orbes, nec sit terris
ultima Thule.

(In later years a new age will come in which Ocean shall relax its hold over the world, and a vast land shall lie open to view, and Tethys shall reveal a new world, and Thulē will not be the last country on earth.)

3. Roman tragedy by Ovid, of which only two lines have survived. It was praised by Quintilian.