While researchers disagree over when the feminist movement began, most agree that it was sometime in the past two centuries. The feminist movement has generally, and often successfully, sought equality between sexes. For example, the womens' movement has won women the right to vote, moved women "out of the kitchen," and, in many ways, made women socioeconomically competitive with men. Nonetheless, all such gains, and the womens' (or feminist) movement itself are largely products of the last 200 years. However, women who are feminists per se have been around much longer. One example of a classic feminist could be Antigone, a fictional woman written of by Sophocles in the fifth century before Christ. In some ways, Antigone even shows some characteristics of a modern feminist.
Antigone first demonstrates feminist logic when she chooses to challenge a powerful male establishment. This establishment, personified by her uncle Creon, has a whole army to defend it, and it is usually challenged by whole city-state like Argos, not one lone "fire-eating" woman (3) and her bumbling sister. The challenge occurs as both a defiance of Creon's laws in Antigone's burying Polynices and as a direct verbal assault on Creon himself. Antigone tells Creon bluntly while he questions her,
Sorry, who made this edict? Was it God?
Isn't a man's right to burial decreed
By divine justice? I don't consider your
Pronouncements so important that they can
Just . . . overrule the unwritten laws of heaven. [ellipses original]
You are a man, remember. . . .
I dare say you think I'm being silly.
Perhaps you're not so very wise yourself. (12) [ellipses added]
The last three lines suggest Antigone's feminist stance: she almost calls Creon a...
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He was born in Boston on January 19, 1809, his parents, regular members of Federal street theater, named him Edgar Poe. Shortly before his mother's death in Richmond, Virginia on December 8, 1811, his father abandoned the family. John Allen, a wealthy tobacco merchant in Richmond, brought Poe into the family (at his wife's request), and gave him the middle name Allen as a baptismal name, though he never formally adopted him. Even though Allen´s treatment toward Poe is not exactly known, we know that Allen never treated Poe with sensitivity. In 1815, the Allen family moved to England on business. There, Poe entered the Manor-House School in Stoke-Newington, a London suburb. This school taught him the gothic architecture and historical landscape of the region made a deep imprint on his youthful imagination, which would effect his adult writings (Levin, 14). The Allens left England in June 1820, and arrived in Richmond on August 2. Here, Poe entered the English and Classical School of Joseph H. Clarke, a graduate of Trinity College in Dublin. On February 14, 1826, Poe entered the University of Virginia. Though he spent more time gambling and drinking than studying, he won top honors in French and Latin.
Sophocles’ background influenced him to write Antigone. One important influence on the drama was the author’s life in the “golden era” of Athens during fifth century BCE. In that time, Athens was experiencing much change in all facets, and drama was a major factor in Athenian culture. In his essay “Sophocles,” Ed Downey reports that Sophocles was born at the beginning of the “golden era” in Athens and lived a long life influenced by “the artistic and cultural achievements in the ancient Greek world”. Sophocles was a wealthy and highly educated, “happy man.” As a young man, Sophocles began his playwright career, eventually becoming one of the greatest writers in history although only seven of his works are still intact (1). Similarly, the setting
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Domestic violence is skyrocketing in our society. In the U.S., as many as 1.5 million women and 850,000 men were physically assaulted by their intimate partner last year, and numerous children abused by their parents. These sad criminal acts will continue to grow in our society, unless our community takes action to stop these crimes.