NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Antigone In ancient Greece, women were inferior to men, for they were expected to stay home all the time and keep the house. In fact, the only women who were ever outside of their house were usually courtesans or hereditas. The families of ancient Greece were very strong, for the poles consisted of many extended families. Gender issues are very apparent in Antigone, and these issues lead to why Antigone breaks Creon's man-made laws and followed the divine laws that Antigone felt was moral and just. The gender problems in ancient Greek society and Antigone's refusal to follow the man-made laws of the land are important aspects of the play, for the gender and class problems in her society were the reasons that she did what she felt was moral, ethical, and just and therefore lead to her death for the honor of being able to bury her brother. One of the questions for the course Athens to New York is how do individuals and communities respond to differences in race, class, gender, and ethnicity.
Although in the play Antigone class, race, and ethnicity arent significant issues, gender plays a very important part in the outcome of the characters lives and is also the cause for the tragedy that occurs. In ancient Greece, women didnt have rights and were inferior to men. Antigone didnt believe she was inferior to any man, for she states she isnt a hapless maiden, while on the other hand Creon didnt want a woman to embarrass him in front of his country, which contributed to his death sentence upon Antigone. (Kirkwood 49) The characters of Antigone all respond differently to gender issues, which cause the conflict in the play and ultimately cause the play to be a tragedy. It is very apparent how the characters in Antigone respond to the differences in gender. Creon and Antigone are in constant conflict throughout the play.
An underlying cause of the conflict, according to Creon, is the fact that Antigone is a woman family member committing a crime against the country. In that time period women didnt stand up for themselves or their family to the extent of Antigone's. Even Ismene had the view that women are inferior to men and that they werent supposed to commit a crime comparable to the one Antigone committed. When Antigone pleads to Ismene for her help in burying their brother Ismene replies, Remember we are women, were not born to contend with men (line 74 - 75). Creon's prejudice towards women is shown many times throughout the play. Creon doesnt believe it was a woman who committed the crime of burying Polynices.
He feels that women arent capable of committing such a crime. When Creon confronts Antigone about the accusations brought on against her, he shows his strong view towards women. While Antigone is defending herself saying that she loves, not hates Creon says, While Im alive, no woman is going to lord it over me (line 593). Creon's hatred towards Antigone trying to rule her is because he is very insecure as a ruler and feels it would be looked upon as cowardly if he were to let family get away with a crime, let alone a family member that was a women. Also Creon shows his prejudice towards women when he is talking to his son Haemon. He begins to give him a lecture on politics and then about women.
He says, Therefore we must defend the men who live by law, never let some woman triumph over us. Better to fall from power, if fall we must, at the hands of a man never be rated inferior to a woman, never (lines 756 - 761). Antigone never lets Creon's prejudice cloud her beliefs and morals, which she shows throughout the play as she shows what she believes to be moral, ethical and just. Antigone defines what she believes to be moral, ethical, and just very vividly through her arguments with Creon and her talks with herself while she is incarcerated.
She buried her brother Polynices even though Creon ordered that no one was allowed to bury the body. She believed that it was her duty as his sister to honor his life and death and bury his body. Then she stands up to Creon and defends her crime until the moment she dies. Never does she regret her actions and she says that she leaves it to the heavens to determine whether her crime was right or wrong. She says, If this is the pleasure of the gods, once I suffer I will know that I was wrong. But if these men are wrong, let them suffer nothing worse than they mete out to me these masters of injustice! (lines 1017 - 1022) She leaves the decision up to the gods, but she refuses to leave that decision up to Creon.
What Antigone feels is moral, ethical and just is the burying of her brother for it is the following of the divine law that the gods sent down. She feels that the divine law is more just, ethical, and moral than the laws that Creon prescribes. When speaking to her sister Ismene about burying the body she says, I have longer to please the deal than please the living here: in the kingdom down below Ill lie forever. Do as you like, dishonor the laws the gods hold in honor (lines 88 - 92). This shows that she feels burying the body is just, moral and ethical. The reason she feels it is so morally right to bury her brother is because heavenly law demands a ritual burial for any human being.
It was the honor of the women of the family to bury the male family members, and Ismene and Antigone were the only two women family members left after all the war, so she felt it was her duty to the gods and to the family. She also shows her responsibility to her family and to the divine law by standing up to the man-made law of Creon, for this was very unlikely for a woman. Her morals that she has lived by throughout her life put her blood and the gods over all else. She pits her free will against fate and against the unjust laws of Creon. (Kirkwood 50) She alone stood up to the oppressive rule, which is characteristic of the time period. The individual of this time period begins to stand up against the tyranny and demands rights, and Antigone is a model of these actions. She would rather die young but die in honor than live a life knowing that she went against her beliefs.
She says as Creon confronts her about whether or not she was aware of his laws and the punishments that the crime carried, And if I am to die before my time I consider that a gain. Who on earth alive in the midst of so much grief as I, could fail to find his death a rich reward? (lines 512 - 515) Antigone's beliefs on what is moral, ethical and just and Creon's prejudice towards women can both be found in todays society. Although religion is decreasing in todays society, many people still feel they should honor the divine laws above the laws that the government sets, just like Antigone did. This causes conflict many times because the government, just like Creon, believe the governmental laws should be more supreme than peoples religious beliefs. (Wiltshire 31) An example of this is when a Jehovahs Witness wont say the pledge of allegiance each morning in class, which is a governmental law, because his divine law says that he cant pledge allegiance to anything but God. As well as conflicts with what people believe to be moral, ethical, and just there are many conflicts involving gender. Creon and Ismene believed women were inferior to men, and still many people including both males and females feel the same way.
Gender issues are a very big problem in todays society for many women are advancing in the workplace but men refuse to recognize women as superior to then, for example as their boss. This is the same way Creon felt about Antigone, he didnt want to appear inferior to her because she was a woman. The same conflicts exist in todays society as they did in Ancient Greece, and for the same reasons as well. The similarities between todays society and Ancient Greece are astonishing, for the four questions that Athens to New York is based upon still have similar answers, although the times have created more advanced conflicts. Two significant questions that are clearly answered in the play Antigone are what does it mean to be moral, ethical or just and how do individuals and communities respond to differences in race, class, gender and ethnicity. Antigone remains morally undefeated at the end of the play.
She was a very strong-powered woman who felt that burying her brother was the moral, just, and ethical action to take. She defied her people to follow the divine law that was in existence long before Creon's man-made laws. This to Antigone was what her belief of what a moral, just and ethical person should do in her situation. Creon showed how he responded to differences in gender by constantly trying to humiliate Antigone to his people so that Creon could win over his people, who were very distrustful of their ruler. But in the end Creon was the one humiliated, and his attempt to win over his people failed because all along he was being immoral and unjust.
Creon's failure and Antigone's triumph over her spirit is what Sophocles wanted to portray in his play, and it still survives today with the same significance it did when it was performed in Ancient Greece. To conclude, we must reemphasize the point that in Antigone there is the contrasting view of the state law against the divine law. The state law may have some similarities to the divine law but they are not the same. (Kirkwood 52) For example the divine law would be the burial of Antigone's brother, but the state law was that her brother was not to be buried. The divine law is a law that is the same for everyone and does not change, whereas the state law is what the king or ruler would want, and can change. Another view in Antigone would be the state against the people.
For the state and state laws to exist there have to be the people too. (Wiltshire 33) The state depends on the people and not just the ruler. Haemon: A one-man state? What sort of a state is that? Creon: Why, does not every state belong to its ruler? Haemon: Youd be an excellent king on a desert island. Some people will think that opposing the society (thus contributing with one's actions to anarchy in that particular state) is right and some will think that it is wrong.
In the play we have different opinion from the characters regarding this issue: Creon- There is no more deadly peril than disobedience; states are devoured by it, homes laid in ruins, armies defeated, victory turned to rout. While simple obedience saves the lives of hundreds of honest folk. Creon is the obvious one to say this, because people, who are obedient to him, make it easier for him, whereas the people who arent cause many problems. But Antigone would not think this way, because for her to be obedient she would have to agree with the state laws and not bury her brother. Bibliography: Calder III, W.
M. , "The Protagonist of Sophocles' Antigone, " Arethusa 4. 1 (1971 49) [cf. A. D. Fiction Brown, "A Reply, " Arethusa 4 (1971) 52 - 54 ] Kirkwood, G.
M. A Study of Sophoclean Drama (Cornell UP 1958) Wiltshire, S. F. , "Antigone's Disobedience, " Arethusa 9 (1976) 29 - 36.
Free research essays on topics related to: ancient greece, divine law, inferior to men, bury her brother, todays society
Research essay sample on Bury Her Brother Inferior To Men
