Classical Backgrounds to English Literature

Study Questions

Medea’s Daughters

Chapter Three

• What is Jennifer Jones’s thesis / argument in chapter three? How might this thesis apply to any of the Medeas that we have read thus far (i.e., Euripides, Seneca)?

• How might Ruth Snyder be considered a “modern Medea”? Which Medea does she (and her case) most resemble? How, on the other hand, does her case differ from those of the ancient Medeas we’ve been reading about?

• What is the relationship between murder scene and stage drama that Jones is trying to suggest in chapter three? Why, in other words, does the Snyder case immediately spark interest from the news and entertainment media?

• How does Treadwell’s treatment of the Snyder case in Machinal differ from the news media’s treatment? How do these treatments of Snyder resemble / differ from tragic drama either in ancient Greece or Rome?

Chapter Four

• What is Jones’s thesis / argument in chapter four? How might this thesis apply to any of the Medeas that we have read thus far (i.e., Euripides, Seneca)?

• How might Francine Hughes be considered a “modern Medea”? Which Medea does she (and her case) most resemble? How, on the other hand, does her case differ from those of the ancient Medeas we’ve been reading about?

• What are the arguments Jones presents for and against Hughes’s acquittal? Do you believe Hughes’s acquittal was a just one (considering all aspects of the case, including her affair)? The larger question I’m getting at here is whether you think severe provocation justifies murder or mitigates guilt.

• Why, according to Jones, is it problematic for Farrah Fawcett to play Francine Hughes in The Burning Bed? Do you agree with Jones (having not seen the movie, of course)?