In the tale of Medea by Euripides, translated by A.J. Podlecki, we can see the tale of a scorned woman as her husband Jason decides to chase after a new love interest, and leaves Medea by her lonesome in the process. The song “Mama’s Broken Heart” by Miranda Lambert also shows the tale of a woman scorned by love. These two pieces are both very similar in that they both reflect the societal pressure for a woman to maintain her composure after being burned by love. However, in both cases, the women choose instead to outwardly express their vitriol and hatred outwardly, albeit through different means. In Medea, it is written “I’ll punish him, with God’s help./The children he had by me he’ll never see/Alive…Let no one think of me as ‘poor’ or ‘weak’”(Medea, 801-806). We can see a similar sentiment in Miranda Lambert’s song when she sings “Leave it to me to be holdin’ the matches/When the fire trucks show up and there’s nobody else to blame…Can’t get revenge and keep a spotless reputation/ Sometimes revenge is a choice you gotta make”.
One distinction between the two songs is the reason for the hatred by these two women. Jason left Medea for another woman, while the love interest for Miranda Lambert is not given a reason for leaving. Another distinct difference is that the pressure for Medea comes from the foreign society that she now lives in and absent of any familial ties, whereas the pressure for Miranda Lambert is partly due to society and partly due to her own mother.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yg05svXp98
“I’ll punish him, with God’s help./The children he had by me he’ll never see/Alive…Let no one think of me as ‘poor’ or ‘weak’”(Madea,801-806)