Women´s Role in Society in Antigone, Aeneid, and The Art of Courtly Love

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In the play Antigone written by Sophacles, Antigone did not really have a role to play in society. She explored a contrast between the behaviour expected by women and the way she really acted in society. Women were considered as slaves being servants in homes, weaving all the time. During those days women did not have any rights and only had to obey the King’s orders. Even though that was the norm, Antigone still went against the laws of King Creon. Her two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices died fighting each other, because Eteocles refused to step down from the throne as his time to rule was over. Creon suggested that only Eteocles should be buried as he died an honourable death and Polynices did not. Antigone, a sallow and wilful girl pushed against the boundaries and disobeyed the Kings rules. She buried her other brother because she felt it was the right thing to do. Why should Polynices be the one lying in the dust and go to waste? Antigone definitely rebelled openly and went against the kings commands while he was well aware of it. I believe that Creon only gave Antigone a harsh punishment because she was a woman; if the law-breaker was a man he would have not been sentenced to death. She was very wise in her actions from my point of view. If one believes in something you should take a stand and fight for it. Don’t hide it just because you are a woman. Women also have rights and are allowed a place in society. Antigone was the exact opposite of her sister, Ismene. Independence versus obedience was the difference between Antigone and Ismens’s respective views on a woman’s role in society. Antigone believed in family ties, Theban traditions and the gods while Ismene obeyed all the rules of the King and knew her place in so... ... middle of paper ... ... influential women in the history of Europe. She served as an example to women during a period where there was an increasing development in the female’s role in society. She also owned land which was given to her by her father when he died. That was very unusual as land were not normally given to women. When she married Louis, the king of France, she went with him on the second crusade organizing his policy. As for Marie from France... She was also an upper-class woman and the first French women poet. Her writings travelled all around Europe which made her well-known all over Europe. She definitely fulfilled her role in society. Both of these women did not rebel against anything as far as I’m concerned, and only did what they thought would enhance women’s society by setting an example. They took a stand and started going on adventures only men would normally do.

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