Gender Equality In Sophocles Antigone

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The concept of “gender equality” is a fairly new one when compared to the rest of history. Since antiquity, men have held an undisputed position above women in many societies. This is especially prevalent in the play Antigone by Sophocles, where Antigone, a woman of cursed birth, is exiled from society and the world, whereas Creon, a criminal of similar magnitude, is not. Creon, as a man and a king, receives a significantly less harsh punishment than Antigone. After the death of his family, he says, “Lead me away/I have been rash and foolish…” ( 244). The choragos, during the exedos, says, “There is no wisdom but in submission to the gods…And proud men in old age learn to be wise” (245). Creon is allowed to recognize his mistake, and the play …show more content…
When she tells Ismene of her plan to bury their brother Haimon against Creon’s edict, Ismene cries, “We are only women,/We cannot fight with men” (191). Furthermore, when the choragos reminds Antigone of her father’s sin in marrying his mother, she says, “You have touched it at last: that bridal bed/I have been a stranger here in my own land/… The blasphemy of my birth has followed me” (226). She can never truly be accepted as part of Greek society due to her father’s actions; furthermore, she sins even further because she, a woman, disobeys a man. She breaks a significantly lower law than Creon has–human as opposed to divine–but because of her status, as a woman and Oedipus’ child, she meets a worse fate. She is not allowed to learn from her mistake, but dies at the end of the play. Antigone’s treatment is a huge contrast to that of Creon’s, all because of difference in birth and gender. Sophocles’ play gives the modern audience an insight into the past of Greek society, where concepts considered outdated today were commonplace and even embraced. By analyzing Sophocles’ play, one can more clearly understand the root of injustice today and recognize the inequality that still plagues society, and in doing so, move a step closer to remedying
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