Sophocles’ Antigone tells the story of a young female living in an ancient Greek society in the city, Thebes. Throughout the play, there are two major themes, which this paper will critically look into, that appeared to be very relevant to the present time though they were not aligned to the social norms at that time. The two themes are civil disobedience and feminism, which both can be utilized in today’s society.
First, the main character, Antigone portrays the act of civil disobedience, which is rare during that time. The most apparent for this is when she strongly wished to bury her deceased and dishonoured her brother, Polyneices despite of the law that was decreed by Kreon which prohibited her or anyone else from doing so. Being very …show more content…
While the feminism in the play was not ideal, it managed to portray the patriarchal society of ancient Greek and her gender was constantly mentioned throughout the play. Females in ancient Greek succumbed only to the roles of housewives, mothers, and their freedom was extremely limited. Despite that, Antigone rebelled against the patriarchal symbol, Kreon and firmly chose to bury her brother. This act is highly crucial, because for someone who was not deemed respectable in the society due to her gender, Antigone managed to gain the support of the citizens and the prophet, Teiresias. In the current society, which is still somewhat patriarchal, Sophocles’ Antigone is pivotal as it managed to show that being a female, a gender that is considered as second-class, too have the power to go up against a tyrannical leader. This is empowering for the women who are currently oppressed in the world, who are not given the access to jobs, educations, and health, who are treated terribly, who are not allowed to dress as they wanted to, and for those who had to submit to the orders of men. Antigone can give oppressed women today the motivation they need in order to stand up against the power that is cowering them. A female has the ability to choose her own destiny and she, too, has the power to start a
First, the main character, Antigone portrays the act of civil disobedience, which is rare during that time. The most apparent for this is when she strongly wished to bury her deceased and dishonoured her brother, Polyneices despite of the law that was decreed by Kreon which prohibited her or anyone else from doing so. Being very …show more content…
While the feminism in the play was not ideal, it managed to portray the patriarchal society of ancient Greek and her gender was constantly mentioned throughout the play. Females in ancient Greek succumbed only to the roles of housewives, mothers, and their freedom was extremely limited. Despite that, Antigone rebelled against the patriarchal symbol, Kreon and firmly chose to bury her brother. This act is highly crucial, because for someone who was not deemed respectable in the society due to her gender, Antigone managed to gain the support of the citizens and the prophet, Teiresias. In the current society, which is still somewhat patriarchal, Sophocles’ Antigone is pivotal as it managed to show that being a female, a gender that is considered as second-class, too have the power to go up against a tyrannical leader. This is empowering for the women who are currently oppressed in the world, who are not given the access to jobs, educations, and health, who are treated terribly, who are not allowed to dress as they wanted to, and for those who had to submit to the orders of men. Antigone can give oppressed women today the motivation they need in order to stand up against the power that is cowering them. A female has the ability to choose her own destiny and she, too, has the power to start a