Feminism in Antigone and A Doll’s House Essay -- Literary Analysis, So

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, A wo military man is like a tea bag. Its only when shes in hot water that you realize how operose she is. This is very evident in both Antig superstar and a Dolls dwelling. Antigone is a Greek play by Sophocles about a young daughter who decides to take on the task of burying her traitorous brother to honor the gods even though her tyrannical uncle Creon has out righted the burial. A Dolls House by Ibsen follows Nora Helmer, a housewife who has borrowed money without her husbands knowledge or consent for the purpose of taking him to Italy for medical reasons. It outlines the internal and external conflicts she experiences in the final days of her secret. It is important to understand the roles of women in both plays because during the time periods they were written, women were held to very different standards and were far more oppressed than men. There are many another(prenominal) spokespersons of nonconformity of women in Antigone and A Dolls Hous e in the ways that the main characters rebel against what is expected of women. Nora and Antigone are headstrong, sharp-witted, and willing to break the law for love, three character traits that were uncommon and almost frowned upon by society for women in history. Nora and Antigone were both very headstrong women. During the time periods of both plays, women were expected to be implemental and share the same opinions as their husbands. The two lead women in the plays show their obstinacy and ability to take care of themselves in many instances. One example in Antigones story is when she says (to her stereotypical woman sister) of her plan to bury Polynices, He is my brother anddeny it as you willyour brother too. No one will ever convict me as a traitor, (Sophocles 18). She then goes on to... ...use she knows that she will be following the gods law and honoring her own flesh and blood line by burying Polynices. All in all, the women in the plays go against the rules and practic es of society so that they can do something for the ones that are close to them. On the whole, Nora Helmer and Antigone for sure raise that women have the ability to do anything a man can do, just as well. The roles of women in Antigone and A Dolls House are certainly different than the roles of men, and the two main women in both plays transcend the expectations and beliefs of what women can and cannot do. They prove this in several ways, including the fact that they were determined, very intelligent and clever, and wiling to break the laws of man for loved ones. Antigone and A Dolls House are great works of classic literature that portray women as strong and intelligent beings.