While an aristocrat may seem to have more to lose, a common man is easily relatable to everyone in the crowd. The only characteristic Miller believes each tragic hero should have is for the character to be willing to "lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing - his sense of personal dignity" (Miller). This means that the tragic hero is willing to give up everything just to save their dignity or their image. While Medea does not give up her own life, she gives up everything else when she plots revenge against her husband Jason, who had decided to leave her for a new bride. She gives up her freedom and her children, who she kills, in order to keep her dignity - "Never shall you be mocked by Jason's Corinthian wedding [to herself]. "(Euripedes, 14). Her biggest fear and her main driving force is to not be laughed at by the Corinthians if she is caught or exiled without revenge. She wants to be the person with the last laugh, and while she does express deep remorse over the idea of killing her own flesh and blood, she admits that "stronger than all my afterthoughts is my fury, fury that brings upon mortals the greatest evils"(Euripedes, 35). Her fury for Jason and the king is stronger than any other thought in her head that is against her evil plots. Her refusal to allow attacks to her own being due to this fury is a flaw Miller believes is necessary for every tragic hero.
The tragic hero, as Miller states, will never allow any assaults - whether big or small - against their being. This develops as one of their tragic flaws throughout the play. More specifically, the tragic flaw is the "unwillingness to remain passive in the face of what conceives to be a challenge to his dignity, his image of his rightful status" (Miller). Medea is a perfect example of this - she refuses to accept verbal and/or physical attacks from any of her enemies. When Creon, King of Corinth, exiles Medea from the country, she refuses to accept this fate, as well as her ex-husband marrying someone else.