Women Less Privileged in the Society
Antigone, the main character in the film Antigone, has been caged due to her gender inferiority
in the Greek society, and no one defends her. The way Antigone was mistreated in Greece shows that
women were not well treated, yet nowadays women are still mistreated but in a different way.
Nowadays women are not only underestimated but also undervalued. Because of the different
mistreatment that are inflicted on women, the society is impacted . There are some factors such as
predominance of men over women, women’s ignorance of their own rights, and cultural influences that
favor men are the different causes of women’s discrimination in the society. Sadly, this mistreatment
definitely has a drastic influence on
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Women are considered the light of a
nation; therefore, they should not be mistreated. In the article Women Aren’t Pets Rocks, Kathleen
Parker insists that “ Without exception, every nation that oppresses women is a failed and, therefore,
dangerous nation.” To eradicate the cultural barriers, it will be crucial to conceive a new view of the
cultural rules by focusing the cultural rules on the universal rights of a human being.
Women endure mistreatment because of the predominance of men over women, women’s
ignorance of their rights, and the cultural influences that favor men. I strongly believe women deserve a
better treatment than the one men have inflicted on them. We as a society need to stop being ignorant
about the problem and come up with a solution. An effective way to alleviate this situation is for women
to gather together as one and abolish gender inequality in our
Antigone is a powerful character, strong-willed, determined and at times self-righteous. She is contrasted by her sister Ismene, who is weak and powerless. Though Antigone is a powerful character, she has no real political power and is dominated by one man, Creon. Creon is both the ruler of the state as well as the patriarch of her family. Antigone was raised by Creon’s house after her own father went in to exile. Antigone is betrothed to Creon’s son, Haemon, further cementing Creon’s power over her. There is one aspect of life that Antigone does have legitimate power in and that is her family, especially her blood line. In ancient-Greek culture the women’s place was in the home, she was responsible for household things and often wasn’t even allowed to leave the house. It is because of this responsibility that Antigone needed to bury her brother Polynices even though it went against the decree of Creon. Antigone also had the gods on her side. It was an unwritten rule of ancient Greek society that the dead must be buried, otherwise bad things may happen. This rule, because it was unwritten and therefore innate, was protected by the gods, specifically Hades, the god of the underworld and family.
This situation goes for not only women but men as well. From an early age, both boys and girls should be taught humanity, in terms of how both men and women should be treated. Unfortunately, this rarely occurs and generations of boys and girls grow up thinking that this is the way of the world. Therefore, the vicious cycle of unfair practices is still going on to this day with little to no advancements.
... do, for all your crown and your trappings, and your guards—all that you can do is to have me killed”( Sophocles190 ).This kind of bravery ultimately proves that Antigone is courageous and willing to stand up to man and do so openly in pride. This kind of courageousness was rare for women of that time. Antigone dies bravely and in loyalty of her brother and because of this she is a model of a strong female protagonist as she clearly did not abide do gender expectations.
Glorified overeating. Two words that together create the ultimate oxymoron, in a society obsessed with body image. Adam Richman, the host of the popular television program Man v. Food, is showing his viewers the sport in eating. Each episode this attractive and far from obese man eats a humanly impossible quantity of food. The feat quickly escalates into a spectacle, with chanting fans and opponents salted and deep-fried. The spectacle of overeating has been transformed into a sport and one celebrated by the media.
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?
Antigone was a selfless person with pride as a strong characteristic of her personality. She possibly had feelings of loneliness and anger from the way society has looked upon her family from their past. It took a strong willed person who has no fear of the repercussions to stand up to a king as she did. To make everything all the worst she stood up to a king who was her Uncle and she being a female back in those time, standing up and speaking out for herself was not heard of.
Many ancient laws and beliefs show that women from all around the world have always been considered inferior to men. However, as time went on, ideas of equality circulated around and women started to demand equality. Many women fought for equality and succeeded in bringing some rights. However, full equality for women has yet to be fulfilled. This issue is important because many women believe that the rights of a person should not be infringed no matter what their gender is, and by not giving them equality, their rights are being limited. During the periods 1840 to 1968, total equality for women did not become a reality due to inadequate political representation, economic discrepancy, and commercial objectification.
In the majority of early cultures and societies, women have always been considered subservient and inferior to men. Since the first wave of feminism in the 19th century, women began to revolt against those prejudicial social boundaries by branching out of the submissive scope, achieving monumental advances in their roles in civilization. However, gender inequality is still prevalent in developed countries. Women frequently fall victim to gender-based assault and violence, suffer from superficial expectations, and face discriminatory barriers in achieving leadership roles in employment and equal pay. Undoubtedly, women have gained tremendous recognition in their leaps towards equal opportunity, but to condone these discrepancies, especially
Women have been treated unequally since the beginning of time. Just recently have things began to change for the better for women and the future of our society. The increase in women’s equality rights will take time, but some day women and men will be treated equally. This cannot happen until each of us is able to look at a person and just see another individual, not a male or a female, white or black, rich or poor… a person as just a person.
”Women have been taught that, for us, the earth is flat, and that if we venture out, we will fall of the edge”(Kramarae, Treichler). This notion is exemplified through both novels, Antigone by Sophocles, and A Doll’s House by Leo Tolstoy. Both novels provide a different look at women, with the two main characters showing qualities that weren’t common in this era such as determination, intelligence, rebellion, hubris, and stubbornness.
Antigone was a tough girl for sticking up for herself, but unfortunately it was not enough to stop Creon in his evil and unjust ways. Justice is something extremely sacred to the human race and has always been a huge factor in people’s lives throughout history. Not to mention how important it was in Antigone’s life. If people think about it she pretty much lived for justice. What has full authority divine law or man’s law and how significant is it that Antigone is a woman defying a man in this time era? This is the real question; divine law always takes triumph over man’s law because it is morally and honestly accepted between the human races.
The sexist stereotypes presented in this tragedy address many perspectives of men at this time. Creon the arrogant and tyrant leader is, the very character that exemplifies this viewpoint. Antigone's spirit is filled with bravery, passion and fury; which allow her to symbolize the very essence of women. She is strong enough to do what her conscious tells her despite the laws of the land. Many examples in the play prove that Antigone's character is very capable of making her own decisions in the name of justice. First, Antigone opposes Creon's law and buries her slain brother; because in her mind it was immoral not to. She does this because she is compassionate and loves her brother very much. Creon, however, believes that his laws must be upheld and would do anything to prevent any type rebelling. He is even more infuriated when he learns that a woman has broken his laws. He tries to show Antigone who's in charge by sentencing her to a life of imprisonment. Secondly, Antigone shows how determined she is by accepting her consequences with pride. She does not try to hide that she is responsible for breaking Creon's laws, moreover, she takes all the credit. All the while she maintains her strength because she truly believes in her actions. These sorts of actions ultimately prove that Antigone is courageous and willing to stand up to men, which was completely against the norm at this time. Her spirit refuses to submit to the role of a helpless woman like her sister Ismene's character does.
They have fought long and hard and now they should get the equal rights they rightly deserve. Works Cited Rich, Adrienne. What Does a Woman Need to Know? The Presence of Others, 3rd ed. Ed.
Since the beginning of time, women have always been seen as things purely for the pleasure and benefit of men. Women have always been objectified. Objectification is seeing and treating a person as if they did not have thoughts and feelings, as if they had the status of an object.{1} Only in recent years have they begun to be seen as individuals of equal intelligence and ability. You may think, ”Women have had equal rights for a while. I do not see how this is a problem.” It may not seem like women were given their rights recently, but in our history, women have been treated objectively for thousands of years, even dating back to biblical times. Still, even when women have the same rights, opportunities, and responsibility as men, women can be found almost everywhere being treated as though they were incompetent and lesser human beings.{4}
Throughout history, there have been constant power struggles between men and women, placing the male population at a higher position than the female. Therefore, in this patriarchal system women have always been discriminated against simply due to the fact that they are women. Their rights to vote, to be educated and essentially being treated equally with men was taken away from them and they were viewed as weak members of society whose successes depend on men. However, this has not prevented them from fighting for what they believe in and the rights they are entitled to. On the contrary, it has motivated them to try even harder and gain these basic societal rights through determination and unity.