Feminist Behavior In Antigone's Story

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.

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.

Although ancient Greece was a male-dominant society, Sophocles’ Antigone portrays women as being strong and capable of making wise decisions. Antigone, the tragic heroine, rejects the traditional role of women. As such, Sophocles punishes Ismene for embodying traditional attitude. Moreover, Creon is punished for misogyny. Sophocles, accordingly, uses characterization to promote feminist ideas.

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Antigone is an honorable character in this story of love and rebellion. The only thing that she does is disobey an order that is unjust and bury the remains of her

The female protagonists in the plays “She stoops to Conquer” by Oliver Goldsmith and “Antigone” by Sophocles are successfully able to reach their goal by behaving according to their environment and behaving to the need of their situation. In the very well written play, “Antigone”, Antigone openly refuses to obey the king and buries the body of her brother, Polyneices. In the interesting play, “She Stoops to Conquer”, Kate Hardcastle makes it her goal to marry a man named Charles Marlow. It is her top priority since he feels relaxed in the company of lower class females. When Kate Hardcastle realized that Charles Marlow has a special preference for lower class females, Kate acts as if she is a lady belonging to a lower class and therefore

In Sophocles’s Antigone, we can see that the deeply misogynistic society of ancient Greece has manifested itself into Creon, a despotic ruler, despising dissidents, traitors, and especially women. His hatred of women manifested into several examples of misogyny throughout the play: He assumed that the criminal who buried Polyneices was a man, he looks down on Antigone’s defiance as improper defiance of a mans order by a woman, and he virtually disowns his son Haemon for disagreeing with him and listening to a woman.

Antigone got out and stood out for what she believed in, Antigone claims “He [Creon] has no right to keep me from my own” which meant she will be burying Polynices despite what law the king has set. Ismene thought otherwise, she says to Antigone, “O think, Antigone; we are women; it is not for us to fight against men; our rulers are stronger than we, and we must obey this […] I can do no other but as I am commanded”. Ismene is characterized as “feminine”, a hopeless and helpless woman that has no business in political authority. Ismenes words did not make Antigone happy, she fights back, “No; then I will not ask for your help, nor would I thank you for it, if you gave it. Go your own way; I will bury my brother; and if I die for it, what happens!”.

Some agree with Antigone’s behavior, such as Haemon, Antigone’s fiance; while others disagree, such as the chorus. The reason for some disagreement is because of Antigone’s bold journey across the separating borderline of gender roles. Her actions and words are all categorized as “manly” under the ideas portrayed in Sophocles’ Antigone. By defying that predefined stereotype, a lot of debatable opinions begin to be thrown around. One is that, it wasn’t necessarily Antigone’s place as a woman to take matters into her own hands and fight for what she believes in using such insolence.

This continues to set up the tension between Creon and Antigone because it shows that some of his statements are based off of sexism, not off of rationality--rationality would have been his response if Antigone was a man, but because she is a woman, she is treated differently. This reveals about Antigone’s character that is she not afraid to voice the truth and stand up for her beliefs, regard of the punishments that will follow, which could lead to a tragic ending because of her acceptance of punishment for her supposed crime (honoring her brother with burial

Women in Ancient Greece were shown to be treated unfairly and less superior to men in homes, as wives, and in society as shown in Sophocles's play Antigone. They were looked down upon and thought of as less intelligent, as if they weren't really needed except for reproducing, doing housework, and taking care of children. Also, women were considered dangerous due to their emotions as they could hurt themselves or someone else. Antigone presents a variety of these ideas of how Women's roles played out in Ancient Greece.

to his son, “To all one’s enemies. Do not be fooled, my son, By lust

In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth develops from a wife who will do anything to help her husband become king, to a lady who is living in loneliness and guilt that drives her to madness. She changes drastically over the events of the play, leaving her lonely, guilty, and dead. At the beginning, Lady Macbeth was cruel, heartless and wanted Macbeth to become king more than anything. After Macbeth had told Lady Macbeth he wanted to kill Duncan so he could become king, she later on said, “Unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe topful of direst cruelty; make thick my blood, stop up th’access and passage to remorse.” (Act I, scene 5, line 40)

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

Common. Average. Regular. Those are not words that come to mind when we think of a hero. The play Death of A Salesman by Arthur Miller is the story of Willy Loman and his dream of becoming someone well known and rich in life. Aristotle defined tragedy as “the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude...in a dramatic rather than narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish a catharsis of these emotions.” The Death of A Salesman story is tragic considering it incorporates the struggles in life, conflicts with family, and the delicate subject of suicide. A tragic hero is a person, whom after making an erroneous decision, his or her life went from favorable to dreadful and led him to his own downfall. Miller believes that the common man has been a tragic hero just for the fact of living life with life throwing obstacles on its way. Miller stated, “I believe that the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were...the underlying struggle is that of the individual attempting to gain his "rightful" position in his society.” In my opinion, Willy Loman is a tragic hero. Although he is not a king or of high class, Willy is a modern tragic hero because he has a reversal in his fortune, is a moral person, and has a flaw.