The Feminist Criticism Of Antigone Essay - 1703 Words

Student’s Name Tutor’s Name Course Code Date Sophocles Antigone The feminist criticism approach evaluates how sexual identity impacts the creation and perception of literary pieces of art. It was originally an offshoot of the feminist movements but has currently employed certain approaches, such as the Masculinity approach, which is advocated by Robert Bly. Feminist criticism takes a primary role in articulating the patriarchal perceptions that have dominated the Western thought. The perceptions have consciously or unconsciously resulted in literature which is full of raw male-advocated assumptions. The current analysis aims at providing a feminist criticism of Sophocles Antigone, with an objective to achieve an informed position. One of the major conflicts in the â€Å"Antigone† is the struggle between the males and the females. It is explicit that the two genders are involved in deliberate efforts for dominance. In addition, it is evident that the perception that men were meant to dominate the women is paramount. For example, Ismene tells Antigone that even from birth the females were not born to contend with men (75), which depicts the women s subordinate positions in their interactions with the men. Besides, the phrase describes women obedience and their passive nature in the confrontation of the day-to-day activities in the society. The women are displayed as beings whose role is to observe and to have little control over the unfolding events at a given time. WithinShow MoreRelatedThe Feminist Movement In SophoclesAntigone1340 Words   |  6 Pagesneglected Sophoclean play of Antigone has been relaunched into contemporary critical discussion, this is largely through the emergence of the feminism m ovement and the critical theory resulting from it in the late 19th and early 20th century. The feminist movement is defined as â€Å"The advocacy of womens rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.† Feminist centred reception of the text has often labelled Antigone as a feminist icon, the use of the word feminist is ambiguous. This I becauseRead MoreSophocles Antigone And The Self Isolation Of The Tragic Hero1724 Words   |  7 Pages Sophocles’ Antigone sets the stage of divine law versus civic law and men versus women puppeteering morality. As a cautionary tale of the 5th century, the text studies the clear distinction between Polios (public life) to Oikos (private life) and the dangers one faces when amalgamating the two. In Antigone religious fundamentalism is in battle with Creon’s stubborn grasp over the importance of showing his people the type of leader he is through his subsequent double blasphemy of letting Polynice’sRead MoreJane Austens Novel Sense and Sensibility: An Analysis1492 Words   |  6 Pagesyet Marianne is no feminist role model. 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As Aristotle distinguishes in his work of literary criticism, Poetics, part of the excitement of a tragic performanceRead MoreReview of Virginia Woolfs Shakespeares Sister3106 Words   |  13 Pageshaving possessed a genius equal to her brother’s, for her lack of education would have denied its flowering. Therefore as a feminist text, Virginia Woolf argues for a literal space for women writers within a literary tradition dominated by patriarchy as she posits that â€Å"A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.† This essay will do a literary criticism of Woolf’s Shakespeare’s Sister by presenting the biography of the author, the literary context within which the essay wasRead MoreGreek Tragedy And The Morality Of Greek Culture Essay2193 Words   |  9 Pagesplays. Even in the case of a female in the story, a man would portray her. The use of only males in a play is a reflection of the misogynistic mentality of the ancient Greeks in Athens. In Sophocles’ play Antigone, Kreon is the King of Thebes and he exhibits misogynistic behavior against Antigone, the female lead. Antigone’s only offense to Kreon is her attempt to retrieve the body of her dead brother in order to give him a proper burial. However, Kreon has decreed that he is an enemy and is to rotRead MoreA Doll House by Henrik Ibsen7379 Words   |  30 PagesTempleton in her article, â€Å"The Doll House Backlash: Criticism, Feminism and Ibsen†, enumerated arguments that were used to reject the play as a feminist text. After thoroughly scrutinizing the arguments, she did not concur with the ideas and wrote in her journal: â€Å"Finally, research on Ibsen’s life proves that, all claims to the contrary, his intentions in A Doll House were thoroughly feminist† (Templeton). Being claimed and lauded by propaganda feminist, some critics argued that Ibsen’s intention inRead MoreThe Origin, Development and Significance of Human Rights10255 Words   |  42 Pagesancient Greece and Rome, where it was closely tied to the doctrines of the Stoics, who held that human conduct should be judged according to, and brought into harmony with, the law of nature. A classic example of this view is given in Sophocles play Antigone, in which the title character, upon being reproached by King Creon for defying his command not to bury her slain brother, asserted that she acted in accordance with the immutable laws of the gods. In part because Stoicism played a key role in its