Similarities Between Antigone And The Pearl

I doubt any teacher has ever made a lesson plan where their students studied an Ancient Greek play and a fairly modern American novella together, but I believe students may learn from contrasting these two works. Antigone by Sophocles and The Pearl by John Steinbeck offer two very different portrayals of women. Antigone and Juana are both female main characters. However, these two women deal with their respective cultural gender roles very differently.

Antigone is strong and brave in the face of danger. When her brother is dishonored in death, she knows she must give him a proper burial even though she may lose her life doing so. Antigone’s sister, Ismene, tries to discourage her from risking her life. Ismene says, “We are only women, we cannot fight with men, Antigone.” However, Antigone does not listen to her sister’s advice. Antigone knows that her gender does not exclude her from doing the proper thing.
She is the practical wife of the protagonist, Kino. She is loyal to her husband, though he treats her like a servant and even beats her in one scene. When she is the narrator, her thoughts are full of ridiculous praise for Kino, even saying he is “half god”. Juana almost saves their son’s life when she attempts to throw away the huge pearl that eventually leads to their infant child’s death. However, Kino does not thank his wife for her wise foresight. Instead, he beats her. Even after this, Juana is still willing to follow her abusive husband unquestioningly, saying “Although she might be puzzled by these differences between man and woman, she knew them and accepted them and needed