Traditional Gender Roles In Antigone

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.

Being that Antigone is the protagonist, her character is important in the play. She made the decision to bury her brother knowing that it was against Creon’s law. Ismene refused to help Antigone, which left her angry, yet still determined to bury her brother. She knew that burying her brother could lead to her own death, but she continued to show courage, strength, and determination throughout her role. In the beginning, Antigone says, “Dear god, shout it from the rooftops. I’ll hate you all the more for silence/ tell the world!”(17,100-101). This was said to Ismene, when they were discussing burial plans and Ismene was telling Antigone that she was against the plan. Antigone’s dialogue shows that she is not worried about being punished or worried about who knows what she has done. It is clear that Antigone is sincere about honoring the gods, her actions show that she feels that she is pleasing the gods and that is all that matters to her. “These laws/ I was not about to break them, not out of fear of some man’s wounded pride, and face the retribution of the gods.”(30, 509-511). This demonstrates how she feels about man’s law vs. divine law. In the plot, there was not one time where Antigone denied

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.

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

Before Antigone begins, the two brothers of Antigone are engaged in a battle no only of land, but of power. Their deep desires to rule Thebes and male dominating ego, only lead to their deaths; a tragedy that would affect more than just themselves. The battle of glory for men would not be the same for their sisters, but in 442 B.C. as Sophocles illustrates, the living women would have to deal with the tragedies of the dead; a task not easy to be burdened with as woman. Their uncle, Creon, dominates Antigone and her sister Ismene to the extent of mourning their own brother's death. Antigone has chosen a fate without glory: "I'll suffer nothing as great as death without glory," (Antigone line 112). Only a male in this time could die with honor and glory, and just as her uncle has forced a death without glory for her brother, although a glorious death is honorable, she has decided it a better life to die without glory than dishonor her blood and the gods. Ismene does not wish to go against the laws of her uncle, for "women were not born to contend with men," but between the bond of her and Antigone, she will defy the king(line 75). Ismene is just as horrified about the edict as Antigone is, but asks what they--weak women--can do. During this era the women had a specific role, and to defy that role would be horrific enough, despite

Sophocles uses the protagonist Antigone in order to portray women as powerful and capable of defeating the obstacles in society. In particular, Creon restraints Antigone by declaring that Polyneices came to “ravage his native land”. His law is significant since it revoked one of the few basic freedoms women were given during this time period. Antigone’s courageous personality motivates her to fight the constraints of society and secretly “lay [her] dearest brother in the grave”(996).

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.

The Golden Mean in Antigone Sophocles was, as any philosopher, keen at challenging the status quo of society’s beliefs. Phusis and nomos – the philosophical principles of natural law and state law (“The Sophists”) – are two central themes that were prominent in Greek philosophical thought. They are respectively represented by Antigone and Creon in Sophocles’ Antigone, and are clearly in conflict with one another. Creon functions under the theory that the law defines justice, rather than justice being an absolute. However, an argument can be made that natural law can supersede the laws of society when the action in question is defensible by nature.

Antigone could have been able to change her future by running away from Thebes; however, she remains calm and hands herself over the authority. “No share in work, no share in death, and I must consummate alone what I began”, said Antigone (Sophocles 216). Even though, her sister Ismene insists to share the blame, Antigone, bravely, takes the blame herself, displaying courage to challenge unjust law. “He believes that women are failed “males” and thus struggle with a significant handicap. A woman’s natural characteristics include envy, shiftiness, a greater tendency to pity and tears, cunning, despondency and lying.” (Meyer). In contrast, Antigone proves that “women’s natural characteristics” are not always valid by accepting the consequences of her own action. Above all, Antigone creates a distinct boundary between characteristics of men and women. Again, by taking responsibility of her own actions, Antigone shows that the assumption about women are failed “males” is irrelevant, because evidently, a woman is capable of doing anything that a men can do, including following her own will, not her own

One perspective of oppression in Antigone is demonstrated through the conflict between Creon and Antigone regarding the burial of Polyneices, Antigone’s brother. Creon is the king of Thebes, and constantly has to assert his power, even if it means suppressing others’ opinions. When Antigone disagrees with his decree of allowing the burial of only one of her brothers, she defiantly performs a burial ritual for the other. Creon is outraged and issues the punishment of death upon Antigone, and condemns her sister Ismene for the same crime “for they are but women, and even brave men run when they see death coming” (Sophocles 460-465). It is clear that the main issue is not about Antigone breaking the law; but that she is an inferior woman who is expressing her opinions against someone of a higher standing. Creon oppresses Antigone for her gender and refuses to acknowledge her perspective because he would rather “lose to a man, at least”

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

“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

In “Antigone” by Sophocles, a famous ancient Greek tragedian, the main character, Antigone, demonstrates a prohibited action in a strict, male-dominated society. Greek civilization upheld strong values and rules that were designed to enforce orderly behavior among its people. There were state laws created by the King, Creon, and divine laws created by the Gods. Divine law was superior to the king laws, and if that rule was disrupted, eternal consequences could ruin an individual. In this society, men were mighty, powerful, and in control of the kingdom. Women were traditionally treated as an underclass with no voice or power. Women were restricted from performing any masculine jobs, holding high civilization positions, and disobeying men. Although Greek civilization had strict standards for women, Antigone challenges the law through her actions in order to satisfy the Gods because it is what she thought was the right decision.

Topic 9: Analysis of the Stereotypical Masculinity of Antigone and Ismene Compared to the Males in Antigone

Sophocles’ Antigone is the third of the three Theban plays written, but has been considered the first; the play was written in or before 441 B.C. In Antigone, Sophocles uses women as a strong and independent figure of the society. This play is the first to display women differently in a male dominated society. He also uses this play to describe women as able to make their own decisions and capable of living without the attention of males. The play Antigone shows the personalities of three women in society: Antigone, the strong, independent one, Ismene, the weak, traditional one, and Eurydice, Creon’s wife and an older traditional woman. Each character represents a woman’s way of living and what is expected and expected of women. Each of these women display many differences, some being the fine line between good and evil and life and death. Going into depth with each female character, the reader could tell that the differences in each character is not displayed in the others. For example, Ismene’s weakness and Antigone’s strong will. Although strength can be important in the play, there is the bravery and the passion