Idina Menzel sings “Let It Go” for ‘Frozen’ character Elsa. Elsa is a feminist in her own right, singing “It’s time to see what I can do. To test the limits and break through”. (#admirable) Elsa is declaring that no one can hold her back anymore.…
Antigone captured the public imagination immediately after the first performance of the play more than 2,500 years ago, as her deeds expanded the possibilities of human action, reconceived the role of women in society, and delineated a new type of character, one who sets her individual conscience and belief in divine principle above and against the power and authority of the state…
After Antigone heard of the orders of Creon, regarding her brother Polynices, she knew that something had to be done for the proper burial of Polynices. Antigone’s sudden rise in spirit and bravery to fight for the honor of her family name is what places her under the category of being an archetypal heroine. The beginning conversation between Antigone and Ismene is essential, thus proving she had already entered the second to last phase in her journey which is departure from her ordinary life to a heroine’s…
People in families tend to claim that they would do anything for their family regardless of the circumstances whether or not they don't agree with, for example, family tradition should always keep it stable and respect their culture. The government law is too extreme when the tradition is prohibited leads to anarchy in society because not every citizens agree with the law terms. For this, analysis paper, Antigone was right to justify King Creon about denying the law terms and keep up with the tradition, however Antigone had broke the law so she was forced to make it up for the King. This paper will start out examine the analysis of the play Antigone by Sophocles that satisfies the brief summary of the play, which character is right, put into…
So naturally, in Sophocles’ play, “Antigone,” the main character is a clear example of a courageous, intelligent high-class woman defying her culture’s limits. She didn’t just go against the State, but her superior male relative as well. This in turn intimidates and infuriates the king. The gender roles are very important because they create tension in the story, which helps build up to the climax. It also affects the decisions of some characters because they want to defend their pride.…
Just as one stone removed can break a bridge, one flaw can bring a man to ruins. The flaw of one man cannot bring down an entire kingdom, but rather one outlook of the king can lead to the demise of the whole. In Sophocles ' epic tragedy, Antigone, a strong gender bias is present throughout the tragedy, and is partially responsible for the downfall of the king.…
Antigone’s introduction as a feminist is within the context of a fiercely sexist civilization. Sophocles paints a vivid portrait of a male dominated society. In 442 BC, women believed that they were inferior to men because men held power and influence over the people and the cities. The patriarchy consisted of men who considered themselves of higher importance and standing, and men who would assign women duties and expect them to perform without question. This authoritarian rule placed women in a subordinate role and extinguished any hopes of power. In the face of this efficiently and tightly controlled agency, Antigone rebels with what Catherine Holland describes as an “otherness” and an “anti-authoritarian” bent. Her very existence as the protagonist and, simultaneously, the antagonist defines her character as the adversary of man and thereby the adversary of the world. Antigone’s razor sharp temerity captures the spirit of modern and nascent feminism as she slashes the societal fabric into which she is woven.…
The famous feminist, Gloria Steinem, once said,”Women are not going to be equal outside the home until men are equal in it.” This central idea of equality is relevant to the story Antigone by Sophocles. Considering the circumstances of the story, the minor character, Ismene, is conflicted with standing by the beliefs that men are overall rulers and power over women. Ismene’s emotions and mood fluctuates through the story in a horrible manner. To tragedy unto despair is a major theme in Sophocles most famous tragedy, Antigone.…
This quotation portrays a powerful and important theme about gender and the role that a woman plays in Greek society. Antigone's gender has an incredible effect on the others around her, for her actions don't constitute those of an average woman in Greek society. An average Greek woman is characterized as subservient and passive, but Antigone possesses independent, strong-willed characteristics that make her intimidating to the men around her. Creon says himself that the need to defeat and control her is greater because she is a woman. Antigone rebels against social structure because she is caught between serving two different men. The first is her deceased brother, while the second is her hostile ruler. However, Creon is more than just her king, he is also her future father-in-law, as well as her guardian since the exile of Oediupus. Her feminine obligations are to men, but she is torn between the two opposing forces in her life. In a sense though, Antigone is indeed following the gender role of a woman, because she is serving a man, her brother, Polyneices. Antigone's individualistic social rebellion is exceptionally intimidating to Creon because it upsets gender roles in hierarchy. This propagating insurgence disrupts social order and his authoritative power, causing the unsteady Labdacids to return to a previous state of chaos that it experienced during the war. By refusing to be acquiescent, she upsets the principle rules of her antediluvian culture. This overturning of the fundamental order of Greek culture can be seen when Creon rambles to the chorus about the decision of whether or not to kill Antigone. "Now if she thus can flout authority unpunished, I am woman, she the man (174)." In this quote, Creon implores that he cannot back down from his ruling because the triumph of a woman is unacceptable and would make a fool out of him. He…
During ancient Greece men and women had many differences when it came to roles in the society. Men and women were not even close to being on the same level as each other. Men had all of the power, and women had no power and were given very little respect; they could not vote or own land. A woman's place was in the household, and their main role was to produce young. With this information we can see how Antigone being a women affects the way Creon treats her.…
The play exemplifies the love that a family can protect each other with, and how this can connect an audience to the characters. Antigone’s love and respect for her brother was unlike any other character in an ordinary story. Her sacrifice of her life for her family makes her a true tragic hero, especially because she does not hesitate to bury her brother’s body. The emotions of fear, love, pity, and more are aroused from the play and entice the reader further into the story. Antigone is a true classic example of tragedy, and the tragic qualities found in this play can assist the audience in analyzing other tragedies as…
The role of women in Antigone and The Iliad were completely opposite each other. Women during the time period of The Iliad weren't as independent as the women during the time period of Antigone. Women during the period of The Iliad were portrayed as objects; they were portrayed as not being equal to the role of a man in the household; not even if they were in some form of royalty. In Antigone women had a little bit more independency and a little bit more equality.…
In the story of Antigone, we see the struggles between right and wrong or individual and government, and the conflicts between the males and females. In the other words, Antigone , a woman, are supposed to have no her own opinions to the her world. She should follow the laws which are made by men. Nevertheless, she believes the god’s laws should be more important than the others.…
addressing gender roles, social order, and human morals, all three of these philosophical elements have always been in practice throughout time. Consider a modern day: activists and their movements. Society is the makeup of firm, overall ideology; however within its walls, no one is tied to believe every aspect of its principles. For decades, and even possibly generations, individuals learn to adapt a certain lifestyle in hopes of surviving. The world has opened up to value speech and human development, but comes from a place where it knowledges history. Commanded, instant death like Creon did is a dated practice found minimal, if not at all, around the world…
In thebes where this place is set, woman have very strict gender roles and rules on how they should enact their gender, but as I said once in my piece Undoing Gender “Moreover, one does not “do” one’s gender alone. One is always “doing” with or for another, even if the other is only imaginary. What I call my “own” gender appears perhaps at times as something that I author or, indeed, own. But the terms that make up one’s own gender are, from the start, outside oneself, beyond oneself in a sociality that has no single author." Antigone has the strict social constructs of thebes acting on her and the restraints of gender enforces on her by Kreon but still helps coauthor her gender through her own defiant actions, causing even Kreon himself to doubt his masculinity and gender performativity stating in lines 485-485 “It’s clear enough that I’m no man, but shes the man, if she can get away wih holding power like this.” He himself also views gender as defined by ones actions and when Antigone defies him he seeks to force her back into her gender roles by killing her to show her he is the true man in control. But onto the Haimon and Polynices ordeal. It can be said that Haimon is in love with Antigone but she is not in love with him. She being a child of incest also has incestuous feelings for her brother Polynices and shows these feelines in lines 72-75 “To me it’s fine to die performing such a deed. I’ll lie there, dear to him, with my dear friend, when I’ve…