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Women's Roles In Sophocles Antigone

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The main conflict in the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, is the role of women compared to men. Ismene says to Antigone, women “were not born to contend with men,” explaining how compliant she is to man's law (Ant 75). Antigone is the only woman in the city of Thebes that goes against men laws and fights for what is right. In addition, Creon, the ruler of Thebes, hates women and has no respect for them stating, “Now I am no man, but she is a man, if power lies with her impunity” (Ant. 497). Creon does not care about women's well-being and his behavior is unreasonable. The author, Sophocles, explains that the role of women is complicated due to Creon’s hatred of women, Ismene’s role is rational and compliant, while her sister, Antigone’s role is one of bravery and defiance.
Creon’s hatred towards women causes Antigone's bold action that leads to her death. Creon states, “Then go below, and if you must be loved, love them! No women will rule while I live” (Ant 596). Creon does not want women to feel powerful or superior to men. Creon’s believes, “there are other fields just as fertile” suggesting that women’s roles are simply to make babies (Ant. 585). While, Ismene follows Creon's rules. Antigone's life is threatened because she wants to bury her brother, Polynices.
Ismene’s …show more content…

Antigone stands up for what she believes in and does not give up without a fight. Ismene is persistent to comply with Creon’s laws. Creon strongly believes that men are superior to women. Creon was too stubborn to understand Antigone’s action of breaking men’s law by burying her brother. Sophocles shows that he agrees with Antigone’s beliefs and wants the reader to learn from Creon's mistakes. After all of Creon's beliefs and behavior, it seems that he was punished with the death of his wife, Eurydice and son Haemon. As a result, they both die by committing suicide after learning of Antigone’s

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