A Feminist Reading of Sophocles Antigone Essay - 1754 Words

While researchers disagree over when the feminist movement began, most agree that it was sometime in the past two centuries. The feminist movement has generally, and often successfully, sought equality between sexes. For example, the womens movement has won women the right to vote, moved women out of the kitchen, and, in many ways, made women socioeconomically competitive with men. Nonetheless, all such gains, and the womens (or feminist) movement itself are largely products of the last 200 years. However, women who are feminists per se have been around much longer. One example of a classic feminist could be Antigone, a fictional woman written of by Sophocles in the fifth century before Christ. In some ways, Antigone even shows†¦show more content†¦In such way, she argues an equality of the sexes, as well as equality under God. However, Antigones justification for her act provides readers with more of a quandary. Antigones motivation to bury Polynices could be one of, or a combination of, three stimuli. First, Antigone could be using her statements about divine justice as a clever justification to leave the world as she does. Indeed, Antigone contemplates suicide with pleasure. She claims, Id welcome / An early death, living as I do now (12), and she sarcastically claims, We have had / A fine inheritance from Oedipus (3). The inheritance includes, the whole range of sufferings ... grief upon grief / Humiliation upon humiliation (3). Antigone has led a horrible life full of grief and humiliation. She is miserable and desires to leave life with some glory -- something of which she has not had much. Clearly, Antigone leads anything but a pleasurable life. Thus, Antigones motivation could be just to leave her miserable life with a bit of glory, which she can (and does) achieve by causing Creons downfall. She could also be spitefully defying Creon in a feminist mindset. Obviously, Antigone has no respect for authority. The Chorus tells Antigone, We respect what you did for your brother / But theres no question that the orders of those in authority must be obeyed (21). Antigone also claims, What Creon says is quite irrelevant (4), and, as notedShow MoreRelatedThe Feminist Movement In SophoclesAntigone1340 Words   |  6 Pagesneglected Sophoclean play of Antigone has been relaunched into contemporary critical discussion, this is largely through the emergence of the feminism movement and the critical theory resulting from it in the late 19th and early 20th century. The feminist movement is defined as â€Å"The advocacy of womens rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.† Feminist centred reception of the text has often labelled Antigone as a feminist icon, the use of the word feminist is ambiguous. This I becauseRead MoreSophocles As A Master Of Character Development14 97 Words   |  6 PagesSophocles is one of the three great Athens tragic playwrights in Greek history. He has written over 120 plays in which they were performed into three tragedies known as the â€Å"Oedipus the King†. Although he has written 123 plays there are only seven of his tragedies remaining and with only a few titles and fragments remaining. The seven tragedies include Ajax, Antigone, Trachinian Women, Oedipus the King, Electra, Philoctetes, Oedipus at Colonus, and Trackers. Sophocles was considered to be a masterRead MoreSophocles Antigone And The Self Isolation Of The Tragic Hero1724 Words   |  7 Pages Sophocles’ Antigone sets the stage of divine law versus civic law and men versus women puppeteering morality. As a cautionary tale of the 5th century, the text studies the clear distinction between Polios (public life) to Oikos (private life) and the dangers one faces when amalgamating the two. 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There are also the aspects of the cultural and political context of ancient Greece to consider, which shaped the language and structure of a play written at that timeRead MoreImitation Of Life, By Sarah Jane Johnson1681 Words   |  7 Pagesdidn’t mean any harm towards her mother. We also read Sophocles’ play â€Å"Antigone,† and from what I gathered the title character is a young women of royal blood who sacrifices her life for the honor and integrity of her family, and to obey the commandments of the gods. We also read from our readings in our book â€Å"A World of Ideas,† and there are four authors that would react in a strongly manner to the life situations of Sarah Jane Johnson and Antigone. One author we read about is Virginia Woolf â€Å"Shakespeare’sRead MoreA Doll House by Henrik Ibsen7379 Words   |  30 PagesCriticism, Feminism and Ibsen†, enumerated arguments that were used to reject the play as a feminist text. After thoroughly scrutinizing the arguments, she did not concur with the ideas and wrote in her journal: â€Å"Finally, research on Ibsen’s life proves that, all claims to the contrary, his intentions in A Doll House were thoroughly feminist† (Templeton). Being claimed and lauded by propaganda feminist, some critics argued that Ibsen’s intention in writing the play is not to resolve gender inequalityRead MoreThe Origin, Development and Significance of Human Rights10255 Words   |  42 Pagesto ancient Greece and Rome, where it was closely tied to the doctrines of the Stoics, who held that human conduct should be judged according to, and brought into harmony with, the law of nature. A classic example of this view is given in Sophocles play Antigone, in which the title character, upon being reproached by King Creon for defying his command not to bury her slain brother, asserted that she acted in accordance with the immutable laws of the gods. In part because Stoicism played a key role