A Modern Woman
Throughout history women have been considered inferior beings. they are constantly seen as objects or property rather than human beings with wants, dreams, and fears. Women have been taught to listen before they speak, to trust the men around them, and above all to do what they are told.
Antigone however breaks every rule in the book. She refuses to let her brother rot in the ground outside for being a supposed rebel. Even though it was commanded by her other brother that to bury him means death. She views Polyneikes body lying in the streets as a betrayal to him and will not let such a thing stand. Antigone refuses to bend to man’s law, only God’s law means anything to her. Her sister Ismene on the other hand is content in listening to the men around him. She is a passive being unlike her strong willed sister.
But because of this time period Antigone’s strong will is viewed as stubbornness and defiance. Kreon states that the “stubborn spirits are the first to crack”. This isn’t exactly true, the first to crack is Ismene. She is frightened by all the the tragedy that has hit their family and cannot see a reason to continue it by flirting with death for someone who is already dead.
Antigones resolve only wavers towards the end of her story where she beings to realize her death could be a reality. This in no way undermines her strong, independent personality but instead shows that she is also a logical person. Antigone knows that her actions have consequences but believes that they do not outweigh what is right and just.
Antigone would fit into our modern world and give inspiration to women of this generation. She refuses to let men tell her how to live her life and how she should behave. She believes in a woman’s right to fight for her desires and that Gods law is above all.
2 responses so far
I do agree that Antigone combats the common idea of what it meant to be a woman. She is an active character with human emotion and reason. I would slightly disagree with your initial paragraph though. You claim that, “throughout history women have been considered inferior beings,” firstly you provide no proof for this seemingly universal proposal. There have been instances of matriarchal systems in history, would you say these societies also regarded woman as the sex that should, “listen before they speak, to trust the men around them, and above all to do what they are told?” I understand that you are referencing the many texts and ideas common to us, but I would disagree with your assumption that everyone prior to “democratic” ideals regarded women as a one-way street.
Antigone has many characteristics that a typical women doesn’t have. Her personality is more close to men’s. Compared with her uncle Kreon, they share some traits that they both are strong, not afraid of consequences and lack of empathy for people who love them. I would say Antigone is brave but not necessarily smart. I disagree with the words that Ismene is “first to crack”. I believe that Ismene’s behavior is totally reasonable. She has already lost two brothers and she doesn’t want to lose Antigone who is her only family in the world. If I were in the standpoint of Ismene, probably I would behave same as her.