Antigone And Nora Helmer example essay topic

In the two plays, Antigone and A Doll's House, the protagonists of the stories are both women. They challenge the traditional roles of women in their respective society even though the plays are separated by thousands of years. Even with the time difference, the accepted roles of women in Antigone and A Doll's House are similar. Antigone and Nora Helmer are both strong women in a time when women are considered the weaker sex and defiance is punished.

Sophocles' Antigone was written circa 441 B.C. during the time of the Greek gods. The play begins with Antigone and her sister, Ismene, talking about the death of their brothers and the order that Creon, both king and uncle, has issued about Polyneices' burial: ANTIGONE. Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way. ISMENE...

Think how much more terrible than these our own death would be if we should go against Creon and do what he has forbidden! We are only women, we cannot fight with men, Antigone! The law is strong, we must give in to the law in this thing, and in worse. Immediately Antigone's strength is evident by her insistence on defying the king's order and her sister's pleading not to disobey him. Ismene reminds her sister that they are just women and should always conform.

Nora Helmer in A Doll's House is also a strong character, but when first introduced to her we find her flighty and a bit air-headed. She seems to be the typical wife and mother of the time when Ibsen's play was written in 1879. Her interaction with her husband, Torvald, in the opening scene shows her acceptance of being the weaker sex and bowing to his dominance. In their discussion about spending and borrowing money, Nora claims she would not be concerned with the people they borrowed money from because they were not important or known to her: NORA. They?

Who would bother about them? I should not know who they were. HELMER. That is like a woman! But seriously, Nora, you know what I think about that. No debt, no borrowing...

NORA. As you please, Torvald (372). In this scene, Nora automatically agrees with Torvald as is expected of a woman in that time. Unlike Nora, Antigone shows her strength from the beginning of the story and remains true to her beliefs. In Antigone's confrontation with Creon, she still maintains her right to bury her brother as witnessed in her talk with Ismene at the beginning of the play. Her open defiance angers Creon and he orders her death: CREON.

She has much to learn. The inflexible heart breaks first, the toughest iron cracks first and the wildest horses bend their necks at the pull of the smallest curb. Pride? In a slave? This girl is guilt of a double insolence, breaking the given laws and boasting of it.

Who is the man here, she or I, if this crime goes unpunished? ... ANTIGONE. Creon, what more do you want than my death? CREON. Nothing.

That gives me everything. ANTIGONE. Then I beg you: kill me. Antigone accepts the sentence because she believes she has done the right thing in defying Creon and burying her brother. Antigone's open defiance is an example of her challenging the typical female role of the time. Nora, on the other hand, hides her strength behind her flighty act.

It is not until the play progresses that we begin to see the change in her character. Nora's strength begins to show with the introduction of Mrs. Linde into the story. Mrs. Linde is a perfect foil for Nora's real personality. While discussing the money borrowed in order to travel to Italy to save Torvald's life, Nora reveals that she is not as brainless as she first appears: MRS LINDE. So it has all come out of your own necessities of life, poor Nora? NORA.

Of course. Besides, I was the one responsible for it. Whenever Torvald has given me money for new dresses and such things, I have never spent more than half of it; I have always bought the simplest and cheapest things. MRS LINDE. Quite so. NORA.

Well, then I have found other ways of earning money. Last winter I was lucky enough to get a lot of copying to do; do I locked myself up and sat writing every evening until quite late at night. Many a time I was desperately tired; but all the same it was a tremendous pleasure to sit working and earning money. It was like being a man.

Society standards of the time believed a woman belonged in the home, not in the business world. Yet, Nora is ingenious enough to borrow money for the necessary trip and keep that information from her husband for years. She has managed to pay part of the money back without Torvald finding out by dressing in plain clothes, personally going without extras and taking on odd jobs in secret. This is definitely not the work of a flighty woman.

Antigone's punishment for her stubbornness is death. Creon's order is based on his anger at Antigone's unwillingness to accept his laws as absolute. Antigone tells Creon that his rules are not the rules of the gods and she felt it was her duty to the gods to bury her brother. "I dared. It was not God's proclamation. That final Justice that rules the world below makes no such laws.

You edict, King, was strong, but all your strength is weakness itself against the immortal unrecorded laws of God" (349). Antigone is willing to sacrifice herself rather than accept the dictates of society and Creon. Nora, unlike Antigone, was not faced with a life or death situation, but it was no less tragic. Nora's character changes in many ways and she begins to speak out about her role in the house and in life. During her conversation with Mrs. Linde and Dr. Rank, Nora is defiantly eating the macaroons that Torvald has told her not to eat.

She tells Mrs. Linde and Dr. Rank that there is something she would love to do even though it is very shocking. "I should just love to say - Well, I'm damned!" (383). Nora's statement indicates her willingness to show her strength and defiance in words instead of just actions. While Antigone has used both words and actions to demonstrate strength, her final action of committing suicide shows her commitment to her beliefs.

While Creon is persuaded to change Antigone's death sentence, Antigone remains strong in her decision and hangs herself before she can be released. This results in the deaths of Haim on and Eurydice. "Lead me away. I have been rash and foolish. I have killed my son and my wife" (369). Without Antigone's defiance and the strength to continue it, Creon would not have lost his son or wife to such tragic happenings.

At the end of A Doll's House, we find Nora and Torvald in the midst of a life-altering situation. Torvald has accused Nora of being unfit to raise her children and an embarrassment to him. Upon finding out that Krogstad will not reveal the note publicly, Torvald's concern is for himself and not his wife. This leads to Nora discovering and finally revealing her true self. Torvald's attempts to calm Nora only urge her to finally confront him and tell him what she really feels. "No, that is just it.

You don't understand me, and I have never understood you either - before to-night. No, you mustn't interrupt me. You must simply listen to what I have to say. Torvald, this is a settling of accounts" (423).

Nora's statement shocks Torvald but exposes her true nature. A woman capable of standing up for and taking care of herself. Antigone and Nora both show strength and conviction in their beliefs even though their actions are seen as defiant. With Antigone, this is easily seen from the very beginning of the play. Her character is very static while Nora is more dynamic. In the end, both women have stood up for their beliefs and followed through to a very final, dramatic scene.

Antigone's suicide and Nora's leaving demonstrate true strength of character in a society where women have limitations and expectations placed upon them. Defiance of these traditional roles can end in tragedy as in Antigone or result in isolation as in A Doll's House..