Medea’s Liminality
The character of Medea inhabits a liminal status. Derived from Latin limen meaning “threshold”, liminal refers to a transitory, in-between state or space, which is characterized by indeterminacy, ambiguity, hybridity, potential for subversion and change. For example, she is both a demi-God, and yet is described as a “barbarian,” a citizen of Corinth, yet also an outsider. She is both masculine and feminine, rational and emotional, pitiful yet powerful, victim and villainess, mother and murderer. What is the effect in the play of this indeterminacy, ambiguity, or hybridity of Medea’s character? How does it confuse or complicate the way one might read her actions?
