Antigone and Fahrenheit 451- How Women Start the Fire
In traditional literature, women tend to play the supporting role, often the best friend or love interest. The few women who play an essential part in the story are often defined by their romantic endeavors rather than their power and influence over others. However, in Antigone and Fahrenheit 451 women are the match that starts the fire, crucial for the action of the novels to occur. Clarisse McClellan from Fahrenheit 451 introduces protagonist Guy Montag to the reality of his superficial world, and Antigone of Antigone fights against the harsh power of the government to bury her fallen brother. In sharp contrast, women in both novels also serve as a road block for the protagonists, delaying …show more content…
In Antigone, Ismene, Antigone's sister, serves as Antigone’s foil, actively trying to convince her to follow orders. When Antigone confesses to Ismene about her plans, the confidante does everything she can to convince her sister to stop, including telling Antigone that she is too impulsive, and should be more sensible- she is engaged to be married, and Creon has a mob after her! While Ismene does her best, she finally relents, in the end allowing Antigone to carry on with her choice as long as she does not get Ismene involved. (However, as the story passes Ismene begins to support her sister and begs to be killed alongside Antigone.) Mildred, Guy Montag’s wife in Fahrenheit 451, plays a similar part as Ismene, struggling to stop Montag from both collecting books and fighting to get out from under government control. A technology-obsessed, shallow woman, she threatens to turn Montag in to his supervisor, and causes him to seriously debate whether he should continue with his fight- he does not want to lose his wife, however distant she is from him. Just like Antigone, Montag eventually goes through with his plans, but Mildred delays the progress towards his
In traditional literature, women tend to play the supporting role, often the best friend or love interest. The few women who play an essential part in the story are often defined by their romantic endeavors rather than their power and influence over others. However, in Antigone and Fahrenheit 451 women are the match that starts the fire, crucial for the action of the novels to occur. Clarisse McClellan from Fahrenheit 451 introduces protagonist Guy Montag to the reality of his superficial world, and Antigone of Antigone fights against the harsh power of the government to bury her fallen brother. In sharp contrast, women in both novels also serve as a road block for the protagonists, delaying …show more content…
In Antigone, Ismene, Antigone's sister, serves as Antigone’s foil, actively trying to convince her to follow orders. When Antigone confesses to Ismene about her plans, the confidante does everything she can to convince her sister to stop, including telling Antigone that she is too impulsive, and should be more sensible- she is engaged to be married, and Creon has a mob after her! While Ismene does her best, she finally relents, in the end allowing Antigone to carry on with her choice as long as she does not get Ismene involved. (However, as the story passes Ismene begins to support her sister and begs to be killed alongside Antigone.) Mildred, Guy Montag’s wife in Fahrenheit 451, plays a similar part as Ismene, struggling to stop Montag from both collecting books and fighting to get out from under government control. A technology-obsessed, shallow woman, she threatens to turn Montag in to his supervisor, and causes him to seriously debate whether he should continue with his fight- he does not want to lose his wife, however distant she is from him. Just like Antigone, Montag eventually goes through with his plans, but Mildred delays the progress towards his