The Book of Esther and Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone tell the story of two heroic women and their acts of bravery. While both Esther and Antigone are female heroes in their respective works of literature, their acts of heroism, personalities and the purpose and genre in which their stories are told differ. In the Book of Esther, Esther rises from one of the lowest section of society to become Queen of Persia and saves her entire population. The book of Esther opens with the dethroning of Queen Vashti after she refused to appear at King Ahasuerus’, the King of Persia, request (Esther 1:12-20). Thus, launching a search for a new queen across the vast empire of King Ahasuerus (Esther 1:13-22). Esther, a orphan being raised by her cousin Mordecai, a Jewish …show more content…
Esther conceals her identity as a Jew, on the advice of Mordecai (Esther 2:#). Esther becomes Queen after winning over Hegai, who is leading the search for a new queen, and King Ahasuerus (Esther 2:9-18). Shortly after Esther had become Queen, Haman, the King’s primary counselor, orders the torture and extermination of the entire Jewish population of Persia after Mordecai refuses to bow in his presence (Esther 3:2-7). Esther, a Jew herself, takes action, risking her life by entering the King’s court without prior invitation, in an attempt to save the Jewish people of Persia (Esther 5:1). After entering and being accepted in to the King’s court she gives the King a simple request to attend dinner with her and Haman, to which he agrees (Esther 5:1-5). At the first dinner, Esther asks for a second dinner at which she tells the King of her distress over Haman’s actions and asks for him to be punished (Esther 5:7-9, 7:1-9). King Ahasuerus punishes Haman, hanging him in the gallows
Aunt Esther is a completely different person compared to Michael, she is lonely and she like it that way and she is always on the phone when Michael comes home. She really didn’t want to take in Michael, but her sister died and she is fiercely loyal to her family. A example of this is whenever Michael comes home for school she quickly changes the subject on the phone. In paragraph 1-10 they are in a fight, Aunt Esther says to Michael, “you hate it here,” she said, “and you hate me.” Michael claims that he doesn’t hate her and that it not her fault. This proves that Aunt Esther does not get along with Michael in the beginning because he won’t share his true feelings and how sad he his about his parents
He anxiously awaits the day when he can call Antigone his wife, but because she defies King Creon, she deprives him of that opportunity. At first, Haemon tries to be loyal to his father. He tells Creon that he supports his decision to execute Antigone. However, as the conversation continues, he reveals that the community members are starting to renounce Creon’s decision. As the pain of potentially losing his fiancé becomes too much, he also renounces his father’s decision, arguing that the Gods would not condone it. In an act against his father, Haemon hurries to the cave Antigone was exiled to, in hopes to save her, but instead finds her hanging from the veil she was supposed to wear on her wedding day. Instantly overwhelmed with grief, Haemon, “[bewails] the loss of his bride” (Sophocles 152). Similarly, to Ismene’s case, Haemon cannot picture himself living on Earth without Antigone by his side, and commits suicide. In Antigone’s desire to appease the Gods, she abandons her loved ones, and causes them great suffering. This could have been avoided has she not pursued her desire to bury
...she would end up if she didn’t change her ways. By losing Joan, Esther was able to release her old self and be reborn again.
In the novels A Doll's House and Antigone, Ibsen and Sophocles respectively create two lead female characters, Nora and Antigone, who confront society's expectations of women in fundamentally different ways. Nora goes against the grain of middle class society by first forging her father's signature and then deceiving her husband, Torvald, throughout their marriage; Antigone, on the other hand, openly challenges and defies the rule of men, including her uncle and King of Thebes, Creon. Although Nora and Antigone share some comparable personality traits, like being strong willed and motivated, they confront the men in their lives and their comparable societies in two distinctive ways, which, as a result, leads to two differing denouements.
In the greek tragedy Antigone , the author Sophocles conveys Antigone as the tragic hero because she arouses the most fear, she shows both good and bad which is a tragic hero characteristic and Antigone has the tragic flaw of loyalty to her family and to the gods.
Greek tragedy incorporates female characters that symbolize women in Ancient Greece. Through the portrayal of Antigone in the playwright, Antigone in Antigone by Sophocles and Penelope in the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, these two women play opposing roles depicting how they appear to society through their actions. In both of these stories, they embody the ideals of passionate women who are very loyal and brave. Through other female characters in each story such as Penelope and Ismene, we can construct a better view of traits illustrated by Antigone and Penelope.
Antigone is Sophocles Greek tragedy where we see a woman as the main character. Antigone is part of the “saga of Thebes” that deals with Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus. Produced around 442 B.C., we see the children of Oedipus deal with what fate has brought them. Antigone deals with the conflict of her burying her brother which would be in defiance of an order given by an egotistical ruler, Creon. In Antigone, one s...
...a and Antigone in this doltish way to show the members of their society and our society today that a woman can be smart. Ibsen and Sophocles were way ahead of their time. Most women even back in the 1800’s went from the hand of one man to the next. They listened and obeyed everything that their fathers said then when they were old enough to get married they listened and obeyed to everything their husband said, and that was how there life was. Antigone and Nora show women, in particular, in 440 B.C. and in the 1800’s that it was a good thing to be independent and stand up for what you believe in. They show the whole audience and the world even today that they are strong and courageous and have great motivation that helps them get through their life whether that means they end their own life or they move away from the men holding them back from their full potential.
Antigone, a resolute and heroic female protagonist, pits her individual free will against the intractable forces of fate and against the irrational and unjust laws of tyrannical man like Creon.
One of the main reasons why Esther tried to commit suicide was the way she perceived her mother's actions, and the fact that she hates her mother:
At the end of the novel, Esther finally see’s a light at the end of the tunnel. She finally realizes that there is hope for her to become healthy again. Once Esther realizes that she will not always feel as bad as she does, she also comes to the conclusion that all the negativity and questioning in her life have made her into the person she has become. Esther finally realizes what her true identity is and she is okay with who she has become.
The book of Esther tells the faithfulness of one woman and her uncle. It is only one of two books that contain the heroism and bravery of a woman heroine. The story of Esther accomplishes two profound things, the first: “To demonstrate God’s providential care of his people, even those outside the land of Israel, and 2) to commend the observance of the feast of Purim by relating how it originated” (Breneman 289).Unlike the rest of the Bible the story of Esther does not directly state or talk about God, but instead shows God’s plans for all of our lives and how in all frightening moments of life, He remains faithful to those who trust and have faith in Him. “In spite of the omission of any name for deity, there is no other book in all the bible where God is more evident, working behind the scenes, than in this book” (Willmington 200). In order to understand who Esther was as a woman and her significance in the history of the Jews, we must first examine the circumstances and other individuals that impacted the events leading up to and after Esther became queen.
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.
In Sophocles’ play Antigone, Creon was engaged in a conflict with Oedipus’ daughter Antigone. Creon and Antigone did not see eye-to-eye the entire play due to extreme differences. Creon and Antigone had many similarities despite their enormous discrepancies. Having as many differences as they did, it made them uniquely similar in numerous ways. The similarities that Antigone and Creon shared were independence, loyalty toward their views, cruelty and arrogance (“The Similarities”). The connection shared by Antigone and Creon showed that as hard as Sophocles tried to make them diverse, he made them unintentionally equivalent at the same time.
A recent study reported that 6.7% of the top earners of Fortune 500 Companies are women. This number can seem low and discouraging to modern eyes. However, this statistic would probably seem an unimaginable leap forward through the eyes of female characters in historical fiction. Henrik Ibsen, the author of A Doll’s House, offers a glimpse into the restrictions on women in the 1880’s, when the book was written. These include limited opportunities for expression, personal fulfillment, and free will in a male-dominated society. The same restrictions can be seen as early as 440 BC, when Antigone was written. Sophocles, the author of Antigone, goes into immense detail about not only the expectations and roles of women, but also the treatment of women. Both of these authors, Ibsen and Sophocles, show the hardships that many women have endured over the ages. Their literary works offer great insight into the characteristics of Nora and Antigone, the two main characters of the books, who are not only determined, but also independent and brave.