Sophocles’ Play Antigone: The Role Of Females
Throughout the development of humanity, there has been a controversial perspective on the roles and characteristics that men and women should possess. The inequality that lays within the midst of this perspective has led to gender bias and persecution of women over the course of our history. The mistreatment of women has been recorded through the passage of knowledge, and many philosophers have created fictional characters and story lines to shed light on the trials and tribulations fought silently by the voiceless women living in those toxic patriarchal societies. A philosopher named Sophocles elegantly constructs a play called “Antigone” that provides insight of the persecution women went through in earlier times. Antigone relates to many women in the world who are being undervalued and persecuted across the globe for nothing more than being born a woman. The fundamental values that Antigone pursued until she was condemned to death are still rooted in the hearts and minds of women in the twentieth-century. Women in present times seek to have their beliefs respected by everyone just as Antigone sought to have her beliefs by disobeying the orders of Creon. Antigone relates with the modern day twentieth-century women by sharing the fearless courage to disobey civil law to pursue their agenda despite the dangers of mistreatment, but the limitations of their roles have expanded as women in Antigone’s time laid a solid foundation of hard work in order for present day women to enjoy their position in society today.
Antigone was a member of the royal family, but even that didn’t stop the extent of pain that toxic masculinity brought to her life. Antigone dwells in a society that is ruled by men, and there is little opportunity for women to be free and progress like their counterparts. Societies as such are not as outdated as the play hence that women in other countries are still being bound down by the men’s perspective of what’s acceptable for them to partake in. While criticisms and supporters alike attempt to demonstrate their points, the discussion about preserving some employment for males, and others for females is still raging. Amongst them is writer Sophocles, who arguably depicts a number of the characteristics of women. Antigone is among his masterpieces, which itself shows much Greek mythology and history. The Sophocles concepts have a close connection with contemporary culture. That stems from the manner he uses women characters strategically to highlight the topics while writing.
Two daughters, Antigone and Ismene, are involved in this play. Their position in the play and hence the role of females are the two acts which, together with the other female, Eurydice, stand out. Women, however, are in the ‘second hand’ class when society treats men as courageous and aggressive. Ismene, the nice sister of Antigone, agrees with the idea that females are disadvantaged people. This emerges throughout her discussion with Antigone about their brother Polynices ‘ funeral. She says, “We must remember we are women born, unapt to cope with men; and, being ruled by mightier than ourselves, we have to hear these things and worse” (Sophocles 3). Her words portray females as individuals of lower standard. Because of their belief in the leadership of men, they can not do certain tasks. Ismene informs Antigone to consider the impact of disobeying the statute of Creon. The role of obedient females is Ismene in this scenario. However, there are variations as Antigone’s femininity image. The role of powerful females able to make informed choices is depicted by Antigone. She is an illustration of females fighting the mistreatment of males who consider her dull. The role of females who are prepared to battle the provisions in their efforts to uphold their freedoms is depicted by Antigone.
It is a matter of the purpose of this paper whether or not the women on whom this research is built could relate their battles to women on the twentieth century. It is reasonable to say that they were correct in advocating for their and their gender rights; they were correct in expressing their presence and refusing to give in to expectations that were for the advantage of males only. Yet, as has been said from the start, despite the justice we saw in their conflict, females who vowed not to be females under this time’s societal belief were sentenced to a devastating death. It is shocking that the freedoms and privileges for which the ancient heroine battled are also in some manner gender-based, because they are in protection of positions to which females were ultimately restricted. However, this could only be the initial phase for females to assert their own presence within civilization, given the more contemporary understanding of the dispute between conventional-domestic and liberal-civic female role, which is still a gender-based conflict, has in some manner changed slightly over the decades with human mind and perception of females. Woman can only hope that their thoughts and privileges be fully respected in society as time has only allotted them a taste of freedom.
