Masculinity In Sogore, By Sophocles Antigone

Throughout the play of Antigone, Sophocles emphasizes Antigone’s unexpected masculinity, her determination to correct a wrong, and her defiance of the patriarchal system led by Creon in order to show that society is hostile to deviant females. When Antigone takes the role of executing the burial of her brother’s body, she is unexpectedly assuming masculine traits, as Ancient Greek women were not the first ones to bury their loved ones, and is receiving societal backlash when she does so. When Creon questions the sentry about Antigone’s actions, he says, “Immediately she scoops up earth—a dry ’andful like—and sprinkles it. Then ’olding up a shapely brazen urn, she pours three libations for the dead” (Sophocles 209). This description talks about …show more content…
When Antigone assumes the role of the burier, such behavior is an act of defiance against Creon’s rule. In yet another criticism targeted towards Creon, Antigone speaks of the illegitimacy of Creon’s edicts, “I never thought your mortal edicts had such force they nullified the laws of heaven, which unwritten, no proclaimed, can boast a currency that everlastingly is valid, an origin beyond the birth of man” (Sophocles 210). Creon responds to Antigone’s egregious claims, saying, “No woman while I live shall govern me.” (Sophocles 214) Antigone’s apparent insult of Creon’s edict and power blatantly presents her disgust of the patriarchal system and emphasizes a heightened tension between a deviant female and her government. Creon’s admission itself is a manifestation of a social and political system set up in favor of men, a system with little to no consideration for the interests of women. The Theban society led by Creon is a society where “[m]en [hold] a monopoly on politics and influence in the public sphere, and women live in a society completely dominated by men.” (Meyer) Meyer is pointing out that men have an advantage in political and social influence, and are the ones who determine the fate of society, including the fate of its female citizens. Women cannot have their interests advanced in society without the approval of their male leaders. In Antigone, Creon voices his disgust over women who govern men, which is an accurate sentiment of the political atmosphere in Thebes, made up of a patriarchal system that dictates women are hostile if they deviate from the law created by men. It’s a deviation because it challenges the well-established male monopoly on power and influence that is present in Creon’s