21 Characterization Through Style

     For Medea’s dress, a combination of the purple silk and flowing arm attachments of dress one with the structured angles of dress two would capture multiple components of her personality and character. The purple silk, (on the left), is a symbol of her royal status, the shape of the bust resembling a peplos, a feminine tunic. The contrast of the sharp angles, (dress to the right), to the flowing shape of the purple removes any implications of a maternal body, which feminine dresses often work to amplify. The points of the sleeves on the second dress add to the lack of safety while in contact with Medea, never knowing how she might strike. The points are also reminiscent of phallic symbolism, becoming appendages that jut out from her body. While this dress remains a highly feminine costume, the severeness lends itself to the line she straddles between femininity and masculinity.

Worn over her dress is a metal cage, which can be seen as a modern artistic interpretation of armor. Medea, in her violent ways, is a warrior. She crosses both gender and societal norms in her bloodthirsty revenge and needs something within her costume to represent her skill in achieving what she wants with violence. By dressing her in this resemblance of armor, her costume becomes a constant reminder of the power her hands hold. However, I chose this piece to vary drastically from typical armor because Medea does not fight with sword and fist as other warriors do. Instead, she relies on her cunning mind and quick hand to take the lives she deems necessary. This armor has low functionality, instead serving as an expression of her physcial power.

I would dress Medea in a Georgian bridal headdress, called a kopi, using a dark purple tool (similar color reference pictured behind). The kopi would hold two references, an implication of her destroyed nuptials with Jason, as well as a reference to her homeland, Cochlis, the present-day country of Georgia. While connecting Medea to Georgia is a modern interpretation of how to understand Medea’s foreignness, the physical location lends itself to understanding how her customs and appearance would vary from those of the Greeks. Throughout the play, Medea while is ostracised for being foreign, she bounces between being proud of her homeland and scorning its differences. Therefore, I am choosing a symbol of her marriage, an important component of her character, that also holds this dichotomy of being othered by those around her. Her pride does not relent and she does not remove the final symbol of where she comes from.

I wanted something to show both her beauty and her being the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. I thought the gold at the base felt organic, uncontrollable, and beautiful, like the sun. Rubies are associated with blood, the sun, and power, all perfectly aligned with the character of Medea. In a further, queerer sense, the Greek philosopher Theophrastus wrote that rubies could have gender, “The ‘male’ stones were darker and more brilliant than the ‘female’ stones, which are lighter with a weaker luster”. Rubies have also been known to vary throughout their wear between brilliance and lacking luster. This transitiveness would highlight Medea’s feminine power being interpreted as masculinity.

Another allusion to Medea’s grandfather, Helios, Jody suggested large sunglasses. The juxtaposition of this highly modern style with Medea’s classical sense of clothing creates a contradictory characterization. Not only a reference to Helios, the glasses also keep a distance between any onlookers and herself, never fully allowing her emotions or personality to be forthright.

I wanted something to allude further to the powers she uses to help Jason. Her status as an enchantress both adds and detracts from her role. By dipping her hands in gold, they portray a similar visual experience to hands dripping in blood, a somewhat vague reference to the blood of her family that is on her hands.