subordinate role in the lives of the Grecian men. The Greek tragedy “Antigone” by Sophocles demonstrates the contrasting roles women play in society and the consequences that follow. Women were subjugated and supposed to be silent spectators to the world around them. Female characters in this tragic play represent the contradicting actions towards the expected gender role of women. Ismene is portrayed as a traditional woman; characterized as weak and submissive. Through the character of Antigone, the role
defied the gender roles that oppress them in order to have a greater sense of control over their lives, and achieve their goals. Defiance of gender roles have brought forth significant changes such as the extension of political rights such as suffrage to women throughout the world, as well as female achievement in male-dominated fields such as science and politics. However, gender roles and the defiance thereof has played a major role in not only history, but also in literature. Gender roles in literary
In Sophocles’ Antigone, it is proven that rebellious women are a threat to men by using Antigone and her refusal to conform to societal social norms in order to challenge the accepted roles of women in Ancient Athens. In Ancient Greek society, women were expected to live, dress, and act a certain way. There were specific roles that women were to fulfill in order to be considered a proper lady. The “roles of Athenian women in the fifth century B.C. were primarily those of wife and mother” (Status
question is answered in the story of “Antigone” by Sophocles. While the discussion of several philosophical and ethical questions is exposed on this ancient play, other themes are as elemental. One of the biggest enigmas is that of how different the reactions of Antigone and her sister, Ismene, when forced to make a stand between the family ties and the country loyalties. This vital subject involves gender and the position of women in ancient Greece. Gender is a major theme in this play; Sophocles
Creons pride into condemning her. At the beginning of the play we are introduced to Antigone, she is not your Classical Greek women, the play is based around a time where women were not close to being equal to men, and were not to have an opinion. In Greek Mythology Pride is a trait despised by the gods and punished without mercy - There is no question that pride, in Antigone, is a trait loathed by the gods. Antigone wants to bury her brother who was involved in a war with his other brother who were
Sophocles introduces us to the feisty Antigone in his play of the same name. Her strong character challenges not only the tyrannical leadership of her king, Creon, but also the position that women were subjected to in ancient Athenian culture. Sophocles is able to place his female protagonist in this unique position by giving her character a heightened masculinity. While Antigone voices that her prerogative is to bury her brother in accordance with the laws of the gods, I will be arguing that her
author Hipponax who lived in the fifth century BC expressed this opinion about women. In the Greek play Antigone, written by Sophocles in 441 BC, the daughter of Oedipus, the king of Thebes, Antigone, is condemned by King Creon, for illegally performing a proper burial for her deceased brother, Polyneices, whose body has been left in the battlefield, without the help of even her sister, Ismene. Antigone tries to fulfill the law of the god’s, by breaking the law of men, and ends up killing herself after
Role Model but Not a Feminist She was forbidden to bury her own family member, but bravery got the best of her. Antigone had to deal with a man’s rule in the play ‘Antigone’. After Antigone’s brothers Etocles and Polyneices fought to their deaths, their uncle Creon had taken the title of being king. Creon said it was not allowed to bury Polyneices because, he saw him as a tryant for attacking thebes in order to take the crown from his brother Eteocles. Antigone on the other hand believed he deserved
Feminist theory is a way to analyze a gender’s place in society based upon the gender roles that are given to them. One concept of feminism, patriarchy, is a society in which males are dominant and women are inferior in every occupation such as religion, politics, and economics. Women are also viewed as lacking the male organ, which is also considered a symbol of male power and other male characteristics. Women are treated with the same respect objects are treated with, the only justification being
struggled to achieve a significant and impactful role in society. It has been difficult for women generation after generation to gain certain rights in their society and achieve the same rights granted to men at birth. Specifically in Ancient Greece, women had more of a role in the privacy of their own home than in public. “Antigone” by Sophocles and “Household, Gender and Property in Classical Athens” by Lin Foxhall both serve as sources that discuss the role of women in the household and in public society