Nora As A Tragic Hero Analysis

Both Nora from “a dollhouse” and Antigone are the female leads in plays from two completely different time periods. These women found themselves in tragic situations that they were forced to deal with. When their actions are analyzed, they can be seen as foolish and not thought out. However, these characters actions are done with the best intentions and unfortunately came with great consequences. Even though both of these characters were in completely different cultures they are perfect examples of tragic heroes. Goal this paper is to define Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero, explain how these protagonists fit that definition, to show parallels between the two characters and evaluate them. According to Aristotle a character needs …show more content…
“How many griefs our father Oedipus handed down!”( Sophocles,1103). This quote is referring to her father Oedipus slept with his mother and she gave birth to Antigone. Also, when the truth about the how Oedipus was her son and lover the queen killed herself. Then, Oedipus poked his eyes out and was banished from the kingdom. This makes her character easy to feel pity for her because she did not choice to be put in the awful situation because of her being born. Although Nora is in a different century, then Antigone she still fits t is requirement to be considered a tragic heroin. At the beginning of the story Nora is treated like a child and l she is a pathetic person. She is always talked down to throughout the story by almost every character, an example this is when Miss Linda said “You’re just a child Nora” (Ibsen, 1252). When Miss. Linda called her a child means that Nora is not intelligent enough to understand and her thought are not seen as important. The constant belittlement makes her easy to feel sorry for because she seems so innocent. Both of the characters also make one fear for their safety. When Antigone was captured by Creon’s guards the …show more content…
Antigone stood for what she believed in even though she knew she was going to be killed if she did. In the amount of pride she had, even though she was discriminated against because of her gender and the fact that she was born to the incest is admirable. Checking the ancient Greek times women were treated almost as bad as slaves in the have a strong willed woman as the protagonist in a play is truly phenomenal. Also Nora needed to deal with generals, but in a different time Period. She also was treated like property and though she was not fighting against the said roles at the beginning of the story, she definitely did at the end. By leaving her husband, she was becoming independent which was unheard of during that time. The play was set in. also both of these characters made decisions follow their heart and instead of just accepting travesty. Though the choices these characters have made could be viewed as idiotic buy some, their choices or sign of strength showing how truly strong women are capable of