This is the reasoning for Antigone not denying that she buried Polynices; she was taking the consequences for what she believed was right and knew it would make her brother and the gods proud (459-540). Therefore, he has taken away and limited her rights. Thus, making this is the main reason for the family rivalry between Antigone and
She feels women are ruled by men because they are weak and Antigone has asked Ismene to help her in breaking the law, and to giving her brother a proper burial. By doing so Ismene knows that the law Creon has established is going to be broken. She tells Antigone, “We are only women, we cannot fight men” (Prologue 48). Ismene believes that women are in no position to question the
Feminism plays a major role in hundreds of cultures, as it raises attention to civil liberties of women across the globe. Applying this to Antigone, it was certainly against the norm of a typical ancient Greek woman to rebel against a male authority. This is reason to believe that Antigone may have shown signs of early feminism. Women in ancient Greece were generally fearful that rebellion against male authority would lead to unfortunate circumstances. The fact that Antigone went against the orders of Creon shows definite female power.
119 The suitors curse her for her deceitful scheme, but still they praise her for her intelligence, which in turn makes her more desirable. Regardless, Penelope manipulates her suitors without violating the social role of women in ancient Greek society; in the world of the Odysseus, the social order was fixed and hierarchical and social mobility was
The play undoubtedly showed that she was helpless in defending herself and is instead, safeguarded through the exposure of her situation. Susan Glaspell’s Trifles tells the audience that women should not be regarded as lesser individuals – less intelligent or less able. Further, that if women are being silenced and deprived, it will lead to revolution, revolt and revenge.
Although Helena had a strong Philia love for Hermia she betrayed her by telling Demetrius their plans to elope. Helena thought that by betraying her friend, Demetrius he would once again love, but this was sadly not the case. When Hermia address her friend as “fair”, we see Helena agitated and responds by telling her, “Call you me fair? That fair again unsay, Demetrius loves your fair, O happy fair” (1.1.181-182). Helena’s angry comments at her friend show time and again how romantic love is stronger than friendship
Years later, Troy went to Sparta for a peace treaty. However, once Paris and Helen met, marriage didn’t stop them from falling in love. Helen loved him so much that she left with Paris, to Troy. Provoking men to die, wives to be mournful, and children being raised without
She is portrayed as the average Greek woman, but in reality is very cunning. Though both these women are two different characters, their roles are similar, and they both are equally powerful. They are cunning; teach Xenia; develop Odysseus’ character; and an important role in their families. Athena is the cunning Goddess who guides Odysseus back to Ithaca for his family and countrymen without letting him know her reality – she disguises herself every now and then to help him by testing him and his knowledge.
The women felt that the war was causing disruption and ruining the unity between the people. Particularly, the main protagonist Lysistrata herself, gathers the power of females in hopes for peace and the reunion of Greece. Although the women initially were dubious about ending the war with a sex strike, it was Lysistrata who brought leadership to the group, encouraging all to contribute their powers for good, as she says, “Our country’s fortunes are in our hands; and whether the Spartans shall perish and the Boeotians shall be completely annihilated” (Aristophane 34-35). During this process, the women were faced with corrupted men, who believed that females should have no participation in the topic of war. Rather than succumbing to the demands of the men, Lysistrata insisted and argued for women to take charge and restore Athens.
In other words, she ended her own life rather than staying alive and working through the problems. He showed how women acted during the Renaissance period, dependent and confidential. Women were expected to act in such way, because of this, they adapted to that behavior and became submissive. Women lost their sight of strength and dominance, which played a role in Juliet’s death. Juliet decided that without her true love, she couldn’t live.
These sorts of character serve a particular purpose in the context of the plays. They are a foil against which the plights of the true focuses can be highlighted. Ismene, Antigone’s sister, is presented as the typical woman of the age. As such she is entirely against Antigone’s plan to act against the state. She asks her sister, “Shall we not perish wretchedest of all, / If in defiance of the law we cross / A monarch 's will?”
Her actions, which go against King Kreon’s decree, speak volumes to what is most important to her- respecting her family. This rebellion is easy to sympathize with because she goes about rejecting an unjust order in a peaceful and respectable way. Antigone is a young, yet experienced character in the play. She is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, who share one of the cruelest and most twisted stories in Greek mythology. On top of that, her brothers Eteokles and Polyneices killed each other in battle, over a land dispute.
Whether it be a movie or novel, women are commonly portrayed as objects of beauty and the weaker gender. It is a typical stereotype that women are weak and men are strong; women are made to serve men. However, Homer’s The Odyssey is different; the epic poem proves that women can not only be manipulative, but that they can also be powerful and often stronger than men. Women in this epic poem have several roles like being interventions throughout Odysseus’ journey home from the Trojan War.
Women have been both compared to a “briskly hog”(Semonides, 550 BCE) and a powerful being in the Greek city-states. The only difference is that it was in different city-states. In Athens women were viewed as useless, besides the fact they could produce the next generation. In Sparta women were viewed as helpful and powerful. The treatment of women in Athens was horrific, harsh, and awful, unlike the treatment of women in Sparta which was fair, and sometimes even favored.
Gender roles throughout history has placed an important value. In Euripides’ Medea, the main character Medea is a sorceress that has a valuable reputation, and is feared for her powers. Being emotionally distressed led Medea to commit a series of murders as revenge after Jason left her for a younger woman. Medea from the beginning is known to make others uncomfortable for her intelligence that is ahead of many. Containing various feminist qualities, Medea speaks out in behalf of injustices allowing her to overcome stereotypical gender roles.