What Does the Play, Antigone, Express About Women’s Place in Society?

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In the play Antigone, Sophocles provides us with diverse views on women’s role in society to provide insight on his own ideas. He accomplishes this by using different characters to express distinctive feelings about women. Sophocles gives us a perception of an opinion held by some in this play as Ismene states “we are only women, not meant in nature to fight against men”(61,62). Ismene is displaying her ideas that Sophocles wants to provide the reader. Whilst Ismene grasps these notions, her sister, Antigone, does not. Antigone does not care about the previously set declaration of Creon, as she believes it is wrong. Creon will “not…keep [Antigone] from [her] own” (47). Although Antigone acts upon emotion because of the repulsive treatment of her dead brother Polynieces, she plays the role of a character resisting the preconception set by Creon that women are lesser then men. Opposing the viewpoint of Antigone, Creon, shows us his ideas of the role of a woman. When asked whether he would “kill [his] son’s wife to be” (568), Creon replies that “there are other fields for [Haemon] to plough”(569). Creon’s answer demonstrates his view of women during this time. Creon does not view women as another human being, rather just an object. Women, according to Creon, are inferior to men. “We cannot give victory to a woman” Creon states, “If we must accept defeat, let it be from a man; we must not let people say that a woman beat us” (678-680). Losing or being corrected by a woman shows defeat at its worst in Creon’s opinion. As we see in previous lines, Creon’s son, Haemon, resolves himself from his father’s words. However Haemon’s opinion shifts. Haemon faces the realization that “the city mourns for this girl” (693). The two men later argue about Haemon’s opposition to Creon’s rulings. Still set in his ways, Creon calls Haemon a “woman’s slave” (757). These lines between
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