Gender Roles In SophoclesAntigone

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

While Antigone represents a full devotion to humanism, her sister, Ismene, represents not only the rejection of it, but also passivity towards the notion of morality which, in a sense, is equivalent to Creon’s treachery towards what we hold morally sacred. Ismene has long been used as a symbol of both anti-politics and anti-humanism, which creates a dynamic plot by contrasting the cowardly fear to stand up for one’s concept of what is right with a brazen display of self-fulfilled justice. (2) What’s worse may be Ismene’s knowledge of her cowardliness and complete complacency, as seen when talking to Antigone about her plan to bury their slain brother when sharing her fear of punishment, " Think how we’ll die far worse than all the rest, if we defy the law and move against the

Creon voices his opinions on Antigone and her actions with great detail and passion, yet he bases a majority of those opinions on her gender. He makes it a point that men are the rulers of the spineless, controlled women. Antigone also voices her own thoughts on the situation saying to Creon, “And if my present actions strike you as foolish, let 's just say I 've been accused of folly by a fool” (Sophocles 665). For a women to speak of a man, in particular the ruler of Thebes in this manner was unheard of. Antigone is

In Antigone, two brothers shared the king status which was left by their father. One of the brothers, Polynices, wanted to start a war with the kingdom because he wanted the king status for himself and himself only. The main ruler, at the time, Eteocles and Polynices fought and they both ended up killing each other. Their Uncle Creon, who took position as King after the deaths of the brother decides that only Eteocles will have a proper burial and Polyneices should lay and rot with no burial. Antigone, Polynices and Eteocles sister, thinks that Creon’s decision is unfair and takes upon herself to give Polyneices a proper burial. When their other sister Ismene finds out, she is stuck between helping her sister bury their brother and following Creon’s demands. Ismene and Antigone are very different people; Antigone is brave while Ismene is tip-top. Two conflicting forces are Ismene's loyalty to her sister and abiding by the laws set out by Creon.

In Sophocles’ Antigone, the title character’s gender creates the capacity for liminality. Not fully demonstrating masculine or feminine normative action, Antigone perplexes those around her and even loses her own logic. Caught between her duty to the realms of the personal and the political, Antigone exhibits liminality of gender through her emasculating interaction with Kreon in juxtaposition with the feminine necessity of her actions.

Antigone’s sister Ismene is a docile, mild tempered rule follower. In many ways, she is what the ideal women might look to a Greek man of their time. However, as mentioned earlier she is a foil-a character who was created to highlight her contrast to Antigone. It’s even fair to assume this is the sole reason she was included in this play because she is only necessary for scenes with her sister. In a monologue in response to Antigone’s plans to bury Polyneices, Ismene says, “Remember we are women, we’re not born to contend with men. Then too we’re underlings, ruled by much stronger hands, so we submit in this, and things still worse,”

Antigone as a heroic and tragic archetype must internally struggle with individuality and morality versus established rule and law and she can be seen as externally fighting between her sister as an outward display of her internal conflict. Antigone then is a unique archetype as a heroine and her power and powerlessness are defining to her as a woman in politics. Her sister, Ismene is portrayed as much weaker and can be said to be metaphorical in that individual morality is weak as compared to established law and Ismene is the personification of morality in a legal-rational world, according to the emerging Hellenistic establishment. Antigone is willing to use her own morals to bury Polyneices, though it is illegal to do so. Ismene is

Antigone is a strong-headed person, who believes that it is her duty to please her family's morals by doing whatever it takes. She says things to her sister to get her point across such as, "Now you can prove what you are, a true sister, or a traitor to your family." (Prologue, 26-27). She also will break the laws and go against her family for her brother. Ismene on the other hand is more fearful than Anitonge.

Antigone is a women with a lot of pride and extremely progressive character considering the day and age the play was written. The play immediately shows that Antigone is shown as a strong independent female character unwilling to bend to even the highest authority figure in the play, Creon. For start her plan is set “But I will bury him; and if I must die, I say that this” (Act 1, Line 55) shows that she is resolute in her actions, even if it must mean death. The dialogue that she has with her sister Ismene makes Antigone Courage and stature even more pronounced by the difference in attitude Ismene has. Ismene is timid and afraid of what would happen to defy Creon decree while Antigone answers to a higher powers which in this case is the gods.

With the strong values Antigone held and her loyalty to her brother, they lead her to behave in an untraditional way by going against the law and orders given by a man.“As long as I live, I will not be ruled by a woman.” (line 525). Creon and Antigone were discussing the burial of Polyneices; Creon did not agree with Antigone that both of her brothers deserved a proper burial. Creon expresses himself with misogynistic language and tried to belittle Antigone to engender her to feel weak, like women were expected to. Refusing to accept that Antigone was right, Creon evaded to show weakness to a woman, in fear of being scrutinized and perceived as less than a man

In the play, Haemon is brought to his father to be informed off the news of his soon to be wife. In the discussion between Creon and Haemon, they speak of Haemon's obedience and Antigone's disobedience to Creon. Creon says, "So I must guard the men who yield to order, not let myself be beaten by a woman. Better, if it must happen that a man should overset me. I won't be called weaker than womankind" (Sophocles 211). Creon makes it clear that his reasoning relies on sexism and not what is truly just. Women are often downgraded to the status of a secondary role as shown in the story.

After losing their family really fast. Creon their uncle becomes and challenges her sister Antigone. Ismene although loving her sister greatly but she is paralyzed to do anything as she is questioning her cultural idea of women. Isemen compared to her sister is more lawful and prideful she tends to hide Antigone obsession to bury her brother. "What? You would bury him when a law forbids the city" (line 55 Page 61) This scene show the weakness presented by ismenes womanhood as woman are just mere subjects. Antigone on the other seems to overshadow her sister as she is the most independent female and she sticks to her no matter the cost she buries her brother. She has clear goals and morals compared to Ismene. "Land of Thebes, City of all my fathers- they drag me away, now, no more delay, look on me- I alone, see what I suffer now at the hands of what breed of men- all for the reverence of god" ( Line 1030 Page 107) This shows us that Antigone even in death when she regrets her decision she isn't lead around like Ismene but she chooses her own path, a small proof that she may have flaws but it makes her look even stronger than

This story is marked by tragedy after tragedy; Antigone and Ismene are presented with a father, that dare to killed his father to married his own mother. Two brother that followed the similar example, and consequently killed each other to for throne to have power. We don’t know what age they were when her parents died, but by inference we can argue that they were young. Although, Antigone and Ismene experience some life-hard moments together, their view on certain situation are shaped differently throughout the play. Antigone, see the situation with her brother Polynieces as outrageous offense to her and her family values, especially after being an active member of leadership in the city of Thebes. Antigone, experiences had made her a stronger than other women, she doesn’t fear man, and is

“No woman shall seduce us. If we must lose, Let's lose to a man, at least. Is a woman stronger than we?” (Sophocles.II.3.539-540) says Creon, King of Thebes and uncle to the disobeying but brave Antigone in Antigone by Sophocles. A patriarchal society is a community in which male domination over women, Sophocles explains the journey of Antigone in getting her brother buried and yielding against the laws of Thebes in a man dominated city. Antigone portrayed in the play is loyal and stubborn, she would do anything that feels ethical and honest to her even if that disregarding the laws created by men. She responds to the standards of King Creon by going against her own blood, not believing that women should subjected to the rule that they

Even though Antigone has familial love toward her brother, she expresses sympathy toward him. Antigone does this by telling her sister that Creon “Promotes one of them and shames the other” by denying his burial rights (22). In this part of her speech, Antigone chooses her words carefully to describe the situation to her sister and express the sympathy she has for Polyneices, especially when she uses the phrase “shames the other” and “miserable corpse” (22-26). Antigone is sympathetic of her brother Polyneices because he is not given a proper burial and is left to the “vultures, unwept, unburied” like he is forgotten (29). It is also intriguing to see how Antigone’s sympathetic response to the lack of her brother’s burial is actually the familial love she has for him. Because she loves and considers him a part of her family, she is emotionally sorrowful for the way he has been treated.