The Oedipus Complex, Antigone and Electra

2374 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Women of the iliad

Introduction

It is a well-known fact that theatre as well as society in Ancient Greece was extremely male-dominated. The female population wasn’t assumably even allowed to attend theatre performances let alone perform on stage. However, still some of the strongest and most unforgettable characters in Greek tragedy were female, perhaps the most feisty and passionate of all being Sophocles’ Antigone. Antigone, one of the best known Greek Tragedies, is filled with strong-willed women. The play is built around the conflict between King Creon and Antigone, who breaks the law by burying her brother Polynices. King Creon considers Polynices a traitor, and decides to kill Antigone as a punishment. Eventually he realizes that he made a mistake, but by then it’s already too late to avoid the disaster leading to three tragic deaths. Not only Antigone but also her sister Ismene, and her fiancé’s mother Eurydice are certainly women with strong opinions and they are not afraid to show them. The striking contrast between women’s role in Ancient Greece and the way they are portrayed in Antigone, made me think; what was the real reason behind men’s need to try to control women. Could it be that in fact the fierce and passionate nature of women, caused men to be intimidated and even scared of them?
Women’s life in Ancient Athens is a widely researched subject. In the book “Goddesses, Whores, Wives and Slaves” Sarah B. Pomeroy describes in detail women in Ancient Greece. She also arises the question of the difference between the image of obedient and repressed women in Greek society and the forceful heroines of Greek Tragedy. “A number of scholars find a direct relationship between real women living in Classical Athens and the heroines of trag...

... middle of paper ...

...why this play was written could well be related to these themes. What its original audience of Greek men could have taken with them after leaving the theatre, is a new point of view into the social roles of both genders and maybe a need to narrow the wide gap between genders.

Works Cited

Pomeroy, Sarah B., (1975), Goddesses, Whores, Wives & Slaves, (Pimlico)

Pritchard, Annie, (1992), “Antigone's Mirrors: Reflections on Moral Madness”, Hypatia Vol. 7, No. 3, p.77 – 93. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3809873

Russell Brown, John, (1995), The Oxford Illustrated History of the Theatre, (Oxford University Press)

Sophocles (2005) Antigone (tr. Marianne McDonald) London: Nick Hern Books

Willner, Dorothy, (1982) “”The Oedipus Complex, Antigone and Electra: The Woman as Hero and Victim”, American Anthropologist Vol 84, No.1, p. 58-78. http://www.jstor.org/stable/675950

Show More
Related

  • The Role of Women in Greek Mythology

    429 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Role of Women in Greek Mythology In learning about the feminist movement, we studied the three articles, discussed and reviewed the different authors perspectives on the topic, and learned how important the role of woman in Greek mythology is. In presenting the feminist theory to the class, we analyzed the three articles, Women in Ancient Greece; Women in Antiquity: New Assessments; and Women in Greek Myth, and discussed how although the three articles provided different views on Feminism in mythology, they all essentially are aiming to teach the same basic concept. In order to understand the feminist theory, we have to understand the notion that although myths are invented and that they involve fantasy, the concept of mythology does not necessarily imply that there is no truth of history in them. Some of the humans may have lived while some of the events may have taken place. Most importantly, the social customs and the way of life depicted in the myths are a valuable representation of Greek society.

    Read More

  • Important Role of Women in Homer's Odyssey

    1720 Words  | 4 Pages

    Yet, despite the fact that no two women in this epic are alike, each—through her vices or virtues—helps to delineate the role of the ideal woman. Below, we will show the importance of Circe, Calypso, Nausicaa, Clytaemestra, and Penelope in terms of the movement of the narrative and in defining social roles for the Ancient Greeks. Before we delve into the traits of individual characters, it is important to understand certain assumptions about women that prevailed in the Homeric Age. By modern standards, the Ancient Greeks would be considered a rabidly misogynistic culture. Indeed, the notoriously sour Boetian playwright Hesiod-- who wrote about fifty years before Homer-- proclaimed "Zeus who thunders on high made women to be evil to mortal men, with a nature to do evil (Theogony 600).

    Read More

  • Women's Roles in Antigone and A Doll's House

    902 Words  | 2 Pages

    Each play represents the issues faced by each gender during the time period in which it was written. However, many of the issues are similar in each time period, as well as throughout most of history. These issues will likely continue to affect both women and men for a long time in the future.

    Read More

  • Goddesses, Whores, Wives, And Slaves: Women In Classical Antiquity

    1877 Words  | 4 Pages

    This paper will discuss the well published work of, Pomeroy, Sarah B. Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity. New York: Schocken, 1975. Print. Sarah B. Pomerory uses this book to educate others about the role women have played throughout ancient history. Pomerory uses a timeline to go through each role, starting with mythological women, who were called Goddesses. She then talks about some common roles, the whores, wives, and slaves during this time. Pomerory enlightens the audience on the topic of women, who were seen as nothing at the time. Men were seen as the only crucial part in history; however, Pomerory’s focus on women portrays the era in a new light.

    Read More

  • Feminism In Antigone And Wicked

    1786 Words  | 4 Pages

    Captivatingly, both women act daringly, regardless of the culturally constructed labels as women, products of incest and wickedness. They use their “otherness” as a power mechanism, rather than an excuse to passivity. In conclusion, Elphaba and Antigone challenge conventional roles of gender, as they are strong, courageous figures of rebellion and exemplify a lack of traditional gender normativity.

    Read More

  • Women Behaving Like Men in Antigone, Electra, and Medea

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout Antigone, Electra, and Medea, many double standards between men and women surface. These become obvious when one selects a hero from these plays, for upon choosing, then one must rationalize his or her choice. The question then arises as to what characteristics make up the hero. How does the character win fame? What exactly is excellent about that character? These questions must be answered in order to choose a hero in these Greek tragedies.

    Read More

  • The Role of Women in Antigone

    596 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the conflicts in Antigone, is the struggle between men and women. Ismene tells Antigone that since birth, women “were not born to contend with men,” (75) displaying women’s obedience and passivity. In the same passage, Ismene says: “we’re underlings, ruled by stronger hands,” (76) a representation of men’s aggressive and “stronger hands” that dominate women and treats them as second-class citizens. The only woman in Thebes who desires to break free from these chains is Antigone, who stands up against Ismene’s passivity urging her to “submit to this,” (77) and defy Creon by burying Polynices. By breaking Creon’s edict, Antigone challenges the traditional gender roles women and men play. In what ways does the theme of gender in Antigone, demonstrate the passion and choices behind Antigone and Ismene’s decisions?

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite

    2587 Words  | 6 Pages

    of the book. USA: Simon and Schuster, Inc. 2000. The.. Print. The.. Blundell, Sue. Women in Ancient Greece.

    Read More

  • Women And The Role Of Women In Classical Mythology

    1197 Words  | 3 Pages

    The society in which classical myths took place, the Greco-Roman society was a very patriarchal one. By taking a careful gander at female characters in Greco-Roman mythology one can see that the roles women played differ greatly from the roles they play today. The light that is cast upon females in classical myths shows us the views that society had about women at the time. In classical mythology women almost always play a certain type of character, that is to say the usual type of role that was always traditionally played by women in the past, the role of the domestic housewife who is in need of a man’s protection, women in myth also tended to have some unpleasant character traits such as vanity, a tendency to be deceitful, and a volatile personality. If one compares the type of roles that ladies played in the myths with the ones they play in today’s society the differences become glaringly obvious whilst the similarities seem to dwindle down. Clearly, and certainly fortunately, society’s views on women today have greatly changed.

    Read More

  • The role of Women in Greece

    1539 Words  | 4 Pages

    Greek women, as depicted as in their history and literature, endure many hardships and struggle to establish a meaningful status in their society. In the Odyssey, Penelope’s only role in the epic is to support Odysseus and remain loyal to him. She is at home and struggles to keep her family intact while Odysseus is away trying to return to his native land. The cultural role of women is depicted as being supportive of man and nothing more. Yet what women in ancient Greece did long ago was by far more impressive than what men did.

    Read More

  • The Complex: A Psychological Concept Of The Oedipus Complex

    1525 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Oedipus complex is an interesting psychological concept. Sigmund Freud first started using the term “Oedipus complex” around 1910 referencing Oedipus Rex by ancient Greek tragedian Sophocles (Wikipedia.org). When introduced to society, the Oedipus complex was greeted by many people as somewhat controversial. The theory was expanded upon by Freud to include female children, as the original Oedipus complex only related to the male sex, by creating the term “feminine Oedipus attitude”, but the term would be forgotten for the most part since Carl Jung’s “Electra complex” was better received. (Wikipedia.org). Jung’s theory was eventually grouped together with

    Read More

  • Justice is Served in Antigone by Sophocles

    753 Words  | 2 Pages

    Santirocco, Matthew S. "Justice in Sophocles' Antigone." Philosophy and Literature. 2nd ed. Vol. 4. N.p.: Johns Hopkins UP, 1980. 180-98. Print.

    Read More

  • Differences and Similarities of The Women of Athens and Sparta

    1843 Words  | 4 Pages

    Meyer, Jargen C. “Women in Classical Athens in the Shadow of North-West Europe or in the Light from Istanbul”. Women’s Life in Classical Athens. www.hist.uib.no/antikk/antres/Womens life.htm. Accessed: March 10, 2012

    Read More

  • womenant Portrayal of Women in Sophocles' Antigone

    834 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although ancient Greece was a male-dominate society, Sophocles' work Antigone, portrays women as being strong and capable of making wise decisions. In this famous tragedy, Sophocles uses the characters Ismene and Antigone to show the different characteristics and roles that woman are typical of interpreting. Traditionally women are characterized as weak and subordinate and Ismene is portrayed in this way. Through the character of Antigone, women finally get to present realistic viewpoints about their character.

    Read More

  • Treatment of Women in Ancient Literature

    2408 Words  | 5 Pages

    Women were often subjects of intense focus in ancient literary works. In Sarah Pomeroy’s introduction of her text Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves, she writes, “Women pervade nearly every genre of classical literature, yet often the bias of the author distorts the information” (x). It is evident in literature that the social roles of women were more restricted than the roles of men. And since the majority of early literature was written by men, misogyny tends to taint much of it. The female characters are usually given negative traits of deception, temptation, selfishness, and seduction. Women were controlled, contained, and exploited. In early literature, women are seen as objects of possession, forces deadly to men, cunning, passive, shameful, and often less honorable than men. Literature reflects the societal beliefs and attitudes of an era and the consistency of these beliefs and attitudes toward women and the roles women play has endured through the centuries in literature. Women begin at a disadvantage according to these societal definitions. In a world run by competing men, women were viewed as property—prizes of contests, booty of battle and the more power men had over these possessions the more prestigious the man. When reading ancient literature one finds that women are often not only prizes, but they were responsible for luring or seducing men into damnation by using their feminine traits.

    Read More

More about The Oedipus Complex, Antigone and Electra

Open Document