Antigone Feminist Essays

Through her strong will and bravery, Antigone made her political, religious, and personal beliefs seen.Because she is secluded, Antigone never has to take her place in society as a woman.During the first twenty years of her life, Antigone spends her time secluded from society with her blind, exiled father, Oedipus.Sophocles’ Oedipus Cycle – Antigone, as a Feminist Throughout history, women have always stood in the shadows of men.In order to characterize Antigone as a feminist, it is important to study Antigone’s early childhood, which displays the origins of the characteristics found in her that make her a feminist.

“Sophocles’ Praise of Man and the Conflicts of the Antigone.” In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard.While researchers disagree over when the feminist movement began, most agree that it was sometime in the past two centuries.One example of a classic feminist could be Antigone, a fictional woman written of by Sophocles in the fifth century before Christ.Antigone first demonstrates feminist logic when she chooses to challenge a powerful male establishment.Nonetheless, all such gains, and the womens' (or feminist) movement itself are largely products of the last 200 years.

While there are extremes on either side of the scale, most feminists fight for equality among the sexes rather than dominance of one over the other.However, women who are feminists have been around much longer.Antigone’s character is indeed among the first to stand up for women in a society that has remained patriarcha...Although no one can say for sure the exact date on which the feminist movement started, most of it is attributed to the past two centuries.In Sophocles’s Antigone, the main character (Antigone) acts as a protofeminist by defying the authority of a patriarchal society and taking action according to what she believes is right in her heart.

Whereas modern literature that contains feminist messages barely gets a second thought, readers in our time are intrigued and impressed by feminist works coming from a decidedly male-biased past.Antigone, which embodies these ideals throughout and is primarily concerned with the inequity of gender roles, is such a play.In order to determine if these plays are feminist, we first require a working definition of the term.In its simplest form, feminist doctrine states that women and men are equal and deserve the same rights and privileges.London: Penguin Group, 1947: 7-22.

Antigone's strong feminist stance in defying a patriarchal tyrant shows how individualistic ideas and actions can be very effectual.And therein lies the reason to believe that Sophocles’ protagonist in Antigone showed signs of early feminism.Works Cited Diner, Hellen.Doubleday Anchor Books.Antigone’s legacy will live on, and provide inspiration to many other rebels to stand up for their rights and everything they believe is correct.

Works cited : - Sophocles, Antigone.Antigone did not run from her death sentence suggest an inherent bravery and obstinacy which the chorus recognizes before her departure to her death.Challenges to Male Authority in Sophocles’ play, Antigone In the play Antigone by Sophocles, Creon and Antigone have distinct conflicting values.After Antigone carries out the deed, Ismene now feels responsible to die with Antigone.And even if Creon were king, and Antigone a male, her opinion on the matter of Polynices' burial would likely have been taken more into his consideration.

The denial of burial to Polynices strikes directly at her family loyalty.Throughout the play, Antigone amazingly retains the traditional role of women, while at the same time boldly challenges this depiction.The bold, tradition-braking character of Antigone clearly clashed with the overpowered, male dominant personality of Creon.It is precisely this loyalty that makes her an active rather than a static figure.Antigone2 Antigone herself represents the highest ideals of human life -- courage and respect for the gods.

On the other hand, Antigone was a female hero because she performed the heroic deed that the Chorus would view as honorable despite she did not fight in warfare as a male warrior.In the Theban Plays, Sophocles depicted Antigone as a strong feminist figure to appreciate the preeminence of the female entity in a patriarchal society.Despite women were considered as subordinate to men, Antigone showed tremendous courage to honor the law of nature and endured the cruel punishment by the civil law.Moreover, Antigone, as a female individual, confronted bravely with the state and the authority of Creon.Throughout the entire play, Antigone upheld her beliefs and never lost her faith of Gods and the moral law.

Antigone Ismene And Haimon Antigone, the character, is a tragic hero because we care about her.Haimon now is fed up with all the bad talk about Antigone and is also in a way speaking for the people."Another example of this is when Antigone is talking to Ismene saying she is going to bury Polyneices no matter what.In this part of the play we really see how strong Antigone is by witnessing just how feeble Ismene is.All these examples of how Ismene and Haimon contribute to the impact of the play are all very necessary to show that Antigone is a hero.

Willner, Dorothy.Holland, Catherine A.New York: Dover Publications, Inc, 1993.Sophocles’ Antigone The character of Antigone in Sophocles’ play, Antigone, is one of the most controversial tragic characters in classic literature.With her complex patterns of thought, bold actions, and the end she encounters, the character of Antigone causes debate among critics as to whether or not Antigone is in fact a tragic heroine.

Nora and Antigone show so many different amazing strengths for women of their day.The play Antigone written by Sophocles, a young girl decides to follow the rules of the Gods rather than the rules of man, especially when it came to the proper burial of her brother Polynices.They show the whole audience and the world even today that they are strong and courageous and have great motivation that helps them get through their life whether that means they end their own life or they move away from the men holding them back from their full potential.This action is pertinent to the feminists of the day because Creon treats Antigone with absolutely no respect and acts as if she is ignorant.It shows great strength to ... ... middle of paper ... ......

World Literature: An Anthology of Great Short Stories, Poetry, and Drama.World Literature: A Anthology of Great Short Stories, Poetry, and Drama.The male characters, Creon and Torvald Helmer, are superior over their female counterparts, Antigone and Nora.Columbus, Ohio: McGraw Hill Glencoe, 2004.Antigone tells the tale of a young adult woman, Antigone, who must choose between following the laws of the state or the laws of the gods.

It is important to... ... middle of paper ... ...ed on women by society are shown in Antigone and A Doll’s House through the hubris, patriarchal beliefs, and ignorance of men.Antigone commits suicide before Creon could kill her.In Antigone written by Sophocles and A Doll’s House written by Henrik Ibsen, the issue of feminism is known.Antigone goes against the law of Creon to follow the laws of the gods and to make sure her brother is not cursed.Therefore, as the philosophy of feminism spread, it challenged to make women’s experiences a reference point for determining life’s meaning,” (Mary A. Kassian, Feminist Mistake).

Antigone and Nora were both blamed to have inherited ‘sins’ or sinful characteristics from their past generations.Nora had to leave her family, unknown of her future, while Antigone had to give up her life for something that she would not have had to.As the quote suggests, the heredity is thought to have passed down to Antigone from Oedipus.Both Antigone and Nora placed high value for family.Antigone and A Doll’s House are both plays that present the themes of feminism and individual vs. society through protagonists that possess similar characteristics.

In “Antigone” we see that the chorus consists of wealthy, political minded men while in “Medea” the chorus consists of women.In the play “Antigone” the same whole hearted support was given to Creon initially by the chorus.Antigone has two brothers who had both killed each other in the war, one was given the proper funeral and that was not given to another brother.In the plays “Antigone” and the play “Medea” the chorus explain and interpret the action in relation to the law of the state, to foreshadow the future, to serve as an actor in the play, to present the author’s views.In Antigone the chorus was not only a major part, but also the most insightful portion of this play’s cast.

Antigone believed, as did most people of her time, that a dead person's soul could not rest if that person's body was not buried.He realizes he might pardon Antigone because of her kinship, but says: "Who is the man here, she, or I, if the crime goes unpunished?"The play obviously attempts to show that Antigone made the best decision, as she gets the support of the gods (the all-mighty, truly relevant force), and her opposition, Creon, suffers.This presents a huge problem for Antigone; she feels she must obey the laws of the gods and bury her brother, but the penalty would be earthly death.Antigone is an almost superhuman example of steadfastness and control.

Anouilh’s depiction of Antigone is not in the traditional form of femininity, like her sister Ismene is, rather, Antigone is depicted as an androgynous1 female.Unlike Ibsen, Anouilh was not as widely regarded for his critique of society, yet similarly in Antigone he has displayed the same sacrificial role of women through the Antigone and Eurydice in the taking of their own lives, Antigone for her morals and Eurydice for her son.“Antigone had hanged herself by the cord of her robe, by the red and golden twisted cord of her robe.Parallels can be drawn between Kristina Linde and Nora of A Doll’s House and Antigone and Ismene respectively.This is similar to the plight of Antigone, in which her emancipation, too, comes at a cost.

And her sister, who has lost so much, and now clings to her so desparately, is rebuffed and dismissed as not worthy of the glorious Antigone.So then, once more assuming Antigone is a male instead, are her or his actions noble or foolhardy, and irresponsible.Antigone had a death wish, a noble death at all costs, to be immortalized in strident conflict.On the surface, Antigone is the classic tragic hero, it is she that Sophocles wants us to be drawn to.His decision did not have the initial benefit of knowing the rashness of the subject Antigone.

Sophocles’ Antigone is a doomed soul, who sacrifices her life by burying her traitorous brother against the wishes of the King, what she believes is the gods’ law.Creon is cursed not because Antigone was righteous, but because she was the gods’ property, and it was for them to decide her fate.When Creon is told of the burial of Polyneices, he demands “What living man hath dared this deed?” and when told by a witness that a woman was the culprit, he can scarcely fathom it “dost thou speak aright?” Antigone has not acted according to her sex, who as stated by Aristotle, has “a larger share of fear”, and is therefore out of her place and sinning by having pretensions to a role improper and above that of women.The character of Antigone chall...

The blind prophet Tiresias also advocates against punishment to Antigone and says he will pay “corpse for corpse, and flesh for flesh”.Antigone succeeds in her stated mission and when this becomes known to Creone, an argument rages on the choice between the natural law and man-made laws.Creone, however, decides to leave Antigone to starve to death in a sealed cave as her prison.“Antigone” begins after both the warring brothers have apparently killed each other and since Polynices revolted against the state and led an Argive army to overthrow his brother Eteocles, he is deemed to be a sinner against the state.In the case of Antigone it was the burial rights to one of her two dead brothers which drives her to go against the will of the rul...

Although the feminist theory suggests that females are weaker than males, both Sophocles’s Antigone and Shakespeare’s Macbeth demonstrate that females can successfully achieve power, when they display both masculine characteristics.A concept of feminism, patriarchy is a male centered and controlled society and is arranged to make women feel inferior to men in every occupation whether it be religion, family, politics, economics, legal or art.Women are then seen lacking in male organ,which is representative of male power and male character traits; they wind up being referred to as objects because of their non­masculinity and lose their respect as human beings because they are women lacking male traits, being active, dominating, adventurous...

I will have to please those below longer than those here, for there I will live forever.’ The oxymoron in ‘crime of holy reverence’ makes the statement more powerful as Antigone expresses her opinion that dying for such a cause is noble and not doing so would be cowardly.On the contrary, Antigone’s feminist side becomes prominent during her conversation with Creon which is moreover a fierce argument as she accepts her actions openly without any glimpse of regret or shame.On the other side, Antigone has rebelled against the society and the King’s rule in order to give respect to her dead brother and bring down Creon’s rule.‘It is not for him to keep me from my own.’ This assertion of Antigone shows her determination towards her goal and...

If only there are those like Antigone that are willing to give it all in order to make a change, I’m sure that our society will be a better place to live.But Antigone and Haemon decided to follow their hearts.New York: P. Lang, 2004. .The same choice goes for Antigone for she wants to give her brother the honor of being buried in the right way.In the end, Antigone killed herself.

At the beginning of Antigone, Antigone appealed to her sister for her life.When they sympathize with the role of Antigone, the audience can participate in the recognition of the role of cognition and imagination paths, and they understand the idea of the context.Antigone is a tragic hero of this drama.Antigone, Cleon and Islamic Main are involved in the Decree Law of the Universe and that law of religious, moral judgment struggle of the city.The role of Antigone in Antigone's Antigone Antigone is one of the most controversial tragedies in classical literature.Because of her innocent behavior, antigone was punished for injustice and injustice.

Creon then sends Antigone to a cave to die.Creon sends Antigone somewhere to wait for her execution.Haimon (Creon's son and Antigone’s fiancé) tries to convince Creon to let Antigone go, but Creon refuses.Despite the fact that her brother, Polyneices, attacked the city, Antigone still loves her brothers equally.Antigone is then taken to the cave where she hangs herself before Creon can stop her.

Changing characters in Sophocles Antigone Antigone is a way to indicate that Cleon King is not buried by a rebel, but his sister Antigone ignores the order.Kryon ordered Antigone to bur himself in the grave.Charlie Paul Siegel believes that there are mainly letters in the two dramas (and a conflict of interpretation of the readers) in "Sophocles human conflict praise and antigone": This is a concept of It does not mean that it does not involve questions.Following the combination of Euripides, In and Antigone and Harmon by interceding Dionysus, avoid disasters.Klein tried to release Antigone by changing his mind, but he was hanging.

Antigone and Ismene are both loyal in their own ways.Antigone gives her brother a proper burial and is not afraid of the consequences as long as she does the honorable thing. "Deep down inside, Antigone and Ismene are the same people: personality, philosophy, and way of life is all the same.Antigone is loyal to her brother and Ismene.Antigone is so devoted to her brother that she reburied him after the guards uncovered him the first time.

Haimon’s devotion and love for Antigone is stronger than his will to obey the law.Sophocles shows that his devotion to family overrides the law by the situations and decisions Antigone, Creon and Haimon make.Not just in the play Antigone, but even in the world today, family values have high precedence over the laws and rules created to follow.Even as Haimon “died/ He gathered Antigone close in his arms again,” (Exodos.Antigone asks her sister Ismene to help bury their beloved brother, but when Ismene says no, Antigone responds by saying, “But as for/ me/ I will bury the brother I love” (Prolouge.

Antigone is then shackled up and thrown in a cave ... ... middle of paper ... ...desaver.com/antigone/study-guide/section6/>.Instead of Creon sentencing her to death right away, Creon decides to apprehend Antigone for a time.In the prologue of Antigone, Antigone pleads with her sister for her life.Antigone asks for Ismene’s help to bury their brother Polyneices (“Antigone”).Antigone asks her sister Ismene for help with the burial of her brother.

Role comparison: Nora vs. Antigone novel "House of Dolls" and Antigone, Ibsen and Sophocles fundamentally faced women's expectations in society, each of which created two leading character female characters, Nora and Antigone.Ismene is a sister of Antigone, she is quite different from Antigone.Even though he was forbidden when he suggested that Antigone buried their brothers, he was shocked.Antigone was a strong and courageous character, but Ismene was an ideal Greek woman of those days.In addition, Nora Helmer and Antigone are women who have overcome many obstacles that prevent women from developing personality and self-esteem.