Whether it be Medea who kills her sons, Antigone who buries her brother, both female characters hold a common goal of seeking either revenge or avenge as well as rebel against authority in the name of her beliefs. However, the female roles in both plays are associated with death. Furthermore, their twisted family history also seem to contribute to the result of each tragedy.
Both main characters are characterized as bold, stubborn, outspoken females with extreme, impulsive tendencies.
Both stories share the lives of strong, sometimes manipulative characters but their actions are different depending on their moral views and setting. Medea is usually very demanding about getting what she wants when she wants it. Antigone will do anything she needs to do in order to accomplish her goal, no matter if it requires breaking the law or hurting people she loves.
Antigone
Antigone is the greatest heroine
Antigone is one of few women who openly rebelled against her fixed position in life
Admitting her involvement in the "crime".
Refusing to allow her sister to share the blame.
Reacting to her death sentence without anguish or desperation, but with indifference.
Choosing to take her death into her own hands. Instead of rotting away in a cave, as was her punishment, she chose to hang herself from the ceiling of the cave.
She defied the view of women in her society. It wasn't her crime that repulsed her people, it was her gender. "The people approve of what she did, but they do not approve of the fact that she did it”
Medea
Perhaps the most fascinating and complex character in Greek drama. She is the ultimate combination of heroine, villain and victim, all displayed in a single play. Medea was married to a Greek named Jason, whom she followed from her foreign land, to Greece. Her love for Jason was deep, and when he elected to leave her to marry the daughter of Creon, Medea was furious. She