Antigone Gender roles PDF

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A short description of the roles women played during the antigone play...

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Antigone's Gender Roles Critique Although women's gender responsibilities were minor in ancient Greece, Antigone embodies a different set of ideals. The protagonist appears to have distinct traits from the other female characters in the play. As a result, Antigone is brave and seems to exhibit characteristics opposed to those of the other female characters in the play. The ladies in the space are all critical to the plot's progression. Moreover, these people are all family-oriented, and how they showcase it sets them apart from the rest, among many other things. In one of the play's opening moments, Ismene and Antigone share an emotional conversation. Subjectivity is a concept they explore in their roles as Greek citizens. Antigone believes that in order to be welcomed by her family, she must be a subordinate member. Similarly, Ismene is fearful that her sister's loyalty may land her in trouble. The play's protagonist, Antigone, plays the lead female role; hence her stubbornness and an unwillingness to accept man's control suggest her foreknowledge of the narrative's outcome from the start. Despite her awareness of Creon's leadership potential, she rebelled by burying Polyneices (p.2). In the end, Antigone gets penalized for her irresponsible behavior and even commits suicide. As a result of what eventually happened to Antigone and Eurydice, Antigone's sister, Ismene, plays an essential role that is not daring but prudent. Ismene represents a different path and is willing to remain silent since he does not want to endanger her life with hasty reactions, even after her brother's death. Her traditional style, which is neither as revolutionary as Antigone nor too traditional as Eurydice, may be credited to her survival.

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Ismene warns Antigone that they are women and they cannot fight stronger men. She continues further telling her that they should accept things the way they are and even the worse to come (p.4). Ismene has conceded their weakness and is afraid of the consequences of performing that risky act. Similarly, Eurydice is like Ismene; they have given in to the idea that women are weak in front of men. Eurydice does everything to impress Creon and does not question his actions. Although it is clear that she is not happy with her husband's actions, she does not complain. Antigone appears to be both foolish and brave because, although she does not consider the outcomes, she stands alone against the top leader in Thebes. Her loyalty to her brother and gods leads to her act of rebellion and, eventually, to her failure as a terrible character (p.37). Antigone should genuinely be seen as a sacrificial victim, as she sacrifices her own life to follow the gods' rules. She attempts to convince her sister to join and support her, but Ismene tries to persuade her to unleash her feelings and face reality instead. Antigone does not let sexism's obvious barrier deter her or even act as an obstacle, for she has her mind made up, with or without their support. Eurydice and Ismene are very similar in terms of their shyness and introversion when it comes to men. The males appear to be happy, while most women, including Eurydice and Ismene, appear to be pleased with their lower social status. At least on the surface, Ismene refuses the opportunity to disobey a man in the opening scene, and Eurydice behaves in a similarly reserved manner from the start of the play. These females are scared of being on the opposing side of the man because they lack the courage to do so, in contrast to Antigone, who is courageous in her opposition. To begin with, both Ismene and Eurydice comply with society's expectations by obeying the judgments of men in positions of authority. Nonetheless, as the story unfolds, their character develops and breaks away from the constraints of the feminist stereotype.

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They see the need to express themselves via writing towards the conclusion of the play, even though doing so carries ramifications that Antigone was fully aware of from the beginning. Even though Eurydice is not in favor of her husband, she is also not in opposition to him at the same time. This lousy quality that Eurydice possesses manifests itself as her inability to take a position and make decisions. She is not a well-known figure, and as a result, she is not seen as deserving of respect until she executes the historically significant act of suicide (p.47). Her suicide expresses her dissatisfaction with her lot in life in a world where men and women cannot regard themselves as being dominated by women. It also explains why she typically stayed mute, as she was well aware of Creon's naiveté at the time. Eventually, Eurydice realizes that she must respond to what she believes rather than simply keeping silent. The author uses the differences between the females' roles to show how different they are and contrasts to express the general theme of gender-free equality. Despite their shared characters of loving and displaying absolute loyalty to their families, Antigone, Ismene, and Eurydice display exclusive qualities. Women's diverse roles are still evident today. While some hold on to the past conception that women are the weak sex, such as Ismene, others like Antigone believe that women are just as strong as men are, believing that women can perform the old men-led tasks much better nowadays.

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Works Cited Sophocles. Antigone (Translated by E. H. Plumptre with an Introduction by J. Churton Collins). 2016....