Antigone And The Awakening Essay

Feminism is an evolving philosophy whose basis is that the Western world is fundamentally patriarchal - created by men, ruled by men, seen through the eyes of men, and judged by men. Antigone and The Awakening are two literary texts that contain the journey of a female protagonist striving to break the limitations of their male dominated society - both within their texts and in the real worlds of the authors daring to break the restrictions of their respective genres. Furthermore, both Antigone and Edna share a commitment to an identity founded on a desire to fulfill their goals and uphold their beliefs in the face of adversity and social conflict. However, while both characters have identities, which suggest something individualistic to them

In their first verbal exchange, Antigone utilizes several words in her statements such as “say” and “deny”; the employment these words, which are explicit verbs, hints at Antigone wishing to take up the role of a man, as the utilization implies actions unsuitable for a woman, whose role is suppose to be mostly passive (P.56). Secondly, when Antigone asserts “But I will bury him”, Sophocles attempts to describe the defiant and blatant attitude of a woman – Antigone – towards the potent ruler Creon; this statement illustrates a sense of masculinity in Antigone because women during that time period acted submissively and subserviently, however, she overtly rejects to follow the almighty’s order, which was seen a sign of masculinity during that time period (P.55). Therefore, these are two of the most prominent examples from the literary text that best illustrate how Sophocles defined masculinity via the medium of a woman, who is suppose to be obedient and conformable, but instead is noncompliant and