Alice Paul Antigone Analysis

Feminism is defined as the belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. Challenging the systemic inequalities women face on a daily basis is the goal of feminism. Antigone, a play by Sophocles, is a tragedy written in the year 441 BC or possibly prior to that. It is the third of the three Theban plays to have been produced. These plays followed the fall of the great king, Oedipus, and later the tragedies that his children suffered. Susan Glaspell’s trifles was ahead of its time “because it is one of the first examples of American feminist drama” (Web). It is one of the most anthologized plays because it is a prominent play, with regards to American feminist drama. This one-act play reaches a climax when two farmwives challenge a male-dominated society by concealing evidence that would have caused another farmwife, who strangled to death

Ismene once argued with her sister, “If in defiance of the law we cross a monarch 's will?--weak women, think of that, not framed by nature to contend with men” (Sophocles 49-68). Ismene did not realize then that she was speaking with of one of the greatest heroines and monarchs of modern feminism in all of literature. If any woman today dared utter the words above, they would face immediate contention from the herd of strong-willed females belonging to the 21st century. In Antigone, we see Antigone press forward with conviction in pursuit of justice and truth. She is met with great opposition, largely due to her gender. In the past 2500 years, society has evolved in monumental ways.

But, once she was older, more independent, and her brother died, she must have realized that women deserve rights as well and should be able to do whatever men do. Antigone was not only a feminist in this play though, she was obviously a strong believer in “family comes first”. She, despite knowing what was coming, went to bury her brother and risked her life for him. Antigone did not see what was wrong with burying Polyneices as it was the right thing to do. But, by doing this Antigone was disobeying her king Creon in various ways, causing her to be shown as a feminist. Knowing that the penalty for disobedience is to be stoned to death, Antigone states that what Creon says is quite irrelevant. She sticks to her beliefs throughout the entire play and refuses to be labelled as a woman as it makes her feel lesser of a person. Furthermore, once Antigone is caught in the act for the burial, she refuses to give in and says that she will suffer nothing worse than death in a good cause. Antigone does not mind the consequences as she sticks to what she thinks (knows) is right, and refuses to give in just because she is a woman.

In Sophocles’ Antigone, gender roles are a major conflicting theme throughout the entire play. The setting of the play was written during the Greek mythological days, around 442 B.C. During these days, men were dominant and held all of the power, so women were automatically treated as less. Antigone and Creon portray the conflicting sides between male and female, and Ismene and Haemon portray opposing sides to Antigone and Creon’s actions. Antigone, Ismene, Creon, and Haemon each show differences in behavior due to their sex versus the actions each character chooses to take. Antigone tells Ismene about her plans to bury their brother, Polynices, which is going against Creon’s orders. Antigone and Ismene, have contrasting perspectives on

Although Antigone shows equality for women and rights, each character in the play has different views and believes. As a tragic hero of the play, Antigone has a tragic flaw and is very brave, as she defies Creon’s law and buries her brother, despite the fact she knows she will have to face consequences. Ismene and Creon on the other hand, do not appreciate

To begin with, the play Antigone has come to be a great representation of anti-feminism showing just how poorly woman in that time were looked down upon. While it creates the mood of how woman were mistreated, it also sheds a light on the choice a woman

In the play Antigone, men view women as a threat to their masculinity and do whatever they have to in order to silence them. However, the women find ways to speak out anyway. Gender has profound affects on the meaning of Antigone's actions. Creon feels the need to defeat Antigone more so because she is a woman. Antigone's rebellion is especially threatening because it upsets gender roles and hierarchy. By refusing to be passive, she overturns one of the fundamental rules of her culture.

Gender and its roles are exposed in the story of Antigone as the central themes. Roles and rules are set and followed by several people in this era, this is appreciated in this text. Ideas of contradiction to these rules were not explored. In Greek mythology, several women held positions of power, but none of these women were human, making the idea of a powerful woman godlike and unattainable, as if to keep woman in their place, which of course, was always under the rule of the superior gender, the male. To challenge a patriarchy with feminism was dangerous, for both sexes were equally protective of it, leaving the challenger desolate in the battle against it. To rely on women to help other women rebel against this social norm was not probable, in the contrary, women held each other accountable for complying to these rules and punished those who didn’t. Women were their gender’s prevalent critics and suppressors, not only because they feared the repercussions, but since they didn’t have the means to rebel against it.

Despite Antigone being written in an ancient patriarchal society that viewed women as the weaker sex, the character of Antigone defies what would have been her role as a female. Instead of quietly submitting to Creon after he gives his decree about burying Polynices, Antigone states, “he has no right to keep me from my own” (49). Even after Ismene warns Antigone about the consequences and reminds her of her status as a woman, she buries Polynices. Throughout the play, Antigone doesn’t show “womanly” characteristics; she demonstrates stubbornness, cheekiness, and pride. Therefore, she talks back and scoffs at Ismene and Creon, a male to whom she should be respectful and reverential. Because of her single-mindedness, she inadvertently destroys her life and the lives of the people around her.

Antigone, however, decides she would rather please the gods than man and buries her brother against King Creon’s orders. She is fully aware of the consequences should she get caught, yet she openly disobeys, even against her sister’s warnings. She gives Creon no additional respect either as a male in a patriarchal society or as a king and ultimate authority figure. In fact, she calls him a fool! Antigone boldly states to Creon himself, “If my present actions strike you as foolish, let’s just say I’ve been accused of folly by a fool,” (Sophocles p.657). The strong will and defiance she exhibits are very characteristic of modern feminism.

To start, Antigone was written by Sophocles to make the people question their faith in both their religion and their government. Putting a young woman in a position in which she had to choose between staying loyal to her country and staying loyal to the gods, Sophocles showed the men of Athens in their comfortable lives that there wasn’t always a simple solution to all of life’s problems. It is important to note that it was only the men of Athens that were shown because they were the only ones that were able to see this remarkable play because of its depiction of women, specifically through Antigone. In a way, if women had been able to see this play, being

In the tragedy of Antigone, by Sophocles, many themes are presented. The themes of civil disobedience and the role of women are heavily presented. The theme of civil disobedience is the refusal to believe in or follow certain rules set by the leaders. In Antigone, Antigone defies the rules and chooses to not follow them. The theme of the role of women is the role that women are supposed to follow. Although, Antigone yet again defies the traditional women role. These two themes mainly relate to the main characters of the story such as Antigone, Creon, Haemon, and Ismene.

Throughout the play, Antigone is presented as an audacious and unorthodox female character, whose actions

The death of Antigone is truly a tragic episode in the Theban Plays, where she hung herself with a woven linen of her dress. By convention, her death would be characterized with feminine quality. However, Antigone, one of the few female characters in the book, possessed distinguishable female characteristics that are as remarkable as a male hero. Antigone was determined when she made up her mind to bury her brother. She was an agent of her words and took up the risks that accompanied to her deeds. Antigone was very passionate from the beginning to her death and she displayed tremendous courage when facing the death penalty. Moreover, Antigone, as a female individual, confronted bravely with the state and the authority of Creon. Throughout

Throughout life we often times will face struggle. In Antigone, the struggle is whether to obey or do her womanly right. When the play was written it was the women of the family who handled burials; however, her brother was to be considered an invader. Antigone pleads with her sister to help her fulfill her family and womanly right to bury their brother to no avail. Creon had made it clear that the body of Polynices, the aforementioned brother, should be left alone to rot. There is no question that there are parallels between the struggle that Antigone faces and the world we live in today. The only difference is the types of struggle that we face today.