Antigone Gender Roles

“Gender,” throughout the years has been defined and redefined by societies, and individuals. “Gender roles,” have, and still do contribute to these definitions. Literature contains prime examples of how gender roles were perceived in different time periods, showing readers the views of an author through the characters and their traits. Sophocles’ Antigone is a Greek tragedy, that heavily depicts the gender roles found in ancient Greek society, also providing insight into what would be seen as “normal” and “abnormal” behavior in relation to gender in Greece. In the play, Antigone, a daughter of the late King of Thebes, Oedipus, becomes distraught when she learns that her two brothers have killed each other, and furthermore, that her uncle and

However, Antigone makes the effort to bury her brother, regardless of her sister's wishes. In her attempt she is caught by a guard, and taken directly to her king. When Creon questions her, she openly admits to what she has done, and he is astounded by her defiance. The confidence she shows spawned from her belief in the morality of her crimes, but is taken harshly by Creon, not only because of her disobedience, but because she is a woman, which becomes obvious as he angrily states, “This girl was already schooled in insolence / When she disobeyed the official proclamation, / And now she adds insult to injury / By boasting of it, glorifying in her crime. / I swear, she is the man and I the woman” (468-72). Creon calls Antigone insolent and disobedient, which shows his position regarding gender roles when he states that she should be the man and he the woman. It becomes clear in this statement, that he believes men to be the only gender capable of disobedience. Meaning women cannot rise against power, and men should be the only ones with power. Therefore, in his mind women are powerless against men. Antigone, however, does not fit into Creon’s description of women. Instead, she is bold and resilient, unfazed by the dark glare of authority. A strong and

Still, Creon’s pride keeps him from seeing that. Terrified of being bested by a woman, Creon makes irrational choices. He is unable to listen to those who criticize him for the sake of his own pride, even if those who criticize him are relatively close to him. One such person is his own son, Haemon, whom Antigone is meant to marry. When Haemon comes to his father to try and rationalize with him, his words are rejected, and Creon even begins to think that his son is siding with Antigone, another blow to his pride. As they argue he exclaims, “How contemptible, to give way to a woman!” (729). To which his son replies, “At least I do not give way to temptation” (730). This succession of quotes, summarizes Creon’s current position. He is losing his temper, frustrated with the push-back that has come from his recent decisions, and as a ruler, he believes that what he says should in turn be followed and listened to. Haemon additionally mentions “giving way to temptation,” insinuating that his father is allowing his own personal biases influence how he rules. The aforementioned, is a terrible trait in a ruler, because it is the way of dictatorship and tyranny. However, Creon says otherwise, declaring, “[W]e must stand up for law and order, / Not let ourselves be worsted by a woman. / If yield we must, then let us yield to a man. / Let no-one call us woman’s underlings” (660-3). shows that