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Creon's Treatment Of Women In Antigone

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Antigone examines a difference between the behavior expected of women and the truth of their part in society. Creon believes that men are the lead characters in society and women to take a secondary and compliant part. Creon gives Antigone a harsher punishment simply because she is a woman. I trust Antigone is right on the grounds that not only is her demonstration courageous, but compassionate and tolerant. Above all, it is the proper thing to do, to pay admiration to the dead.
Antigone’s act of valor throughout the play challenged gender roles of her time. Her first action of bravery is when she insisted to bury her brother unaccompanied by her sister, “I will bury him. I will have a noble death and lie with him…” To Antigone, this was the honorable thing to do. She knew there would be consequences for her actions and she deliberately disobeyed. Antigone never …show more content…

Traditionally, women are considered as feeble and inferior and Ismene is represented by these characteristics. Even at the danger of challenging a man’s authority, Antigone believes that a woman should stick to her morals. Ismene disputes that because she and Antigone are women, they lack the power to defy the states. She implies, “We are women and we do not fight with men… and I’ll obey the men in charge”. Ismene is under the impression that being born a woman is somehow a subsequent condition with men being “stronger”. Antigone desires to escape from these traditions as she is disappointed with Ismene’s passiveness, urging her to stand up for what is morally right. Ismene refuses to go against Creon’s presiding insisting that they “must obey this order, even if it hurts us more… forgive me I am held back by force.” This concept of male authority depicts Ismene to be compliant to men while being fearful of men’s power. She refuses to bury her own brother as a result. Antigone was determined to do what’s right no matter the

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