rosalind vs antigone

Throughout the times there have always been women whom have a certain kind of motivation and strive to not only influence theirs but also the lives of others .Women whom know exactly what they want and are willing to fight even fate to reach what they had intended . I have chosen to compare two powerful and leading ladies Rosalind from “as you like it “ and Antigone from Sophocles’ “Antigone“ . there is the feminist who seeks privilege and the feminist who seeks opportunity ,she who wants a bigger share for women , more wealth ,power or liberty (Parsons 52) which in the case of our heroines it is the matter of power and liberty .These women not only influence there own destiny and future but they also influence others around them like cilia whom by being faithful to her cousin Rosalind follows her to the garden of Arden and therefore falls in love with Orlando’s brother Oliver , Orlando or even phoebes future ,and examples from Antigone would be how she influences her destiny (death ) or even Ismenes or Haemons life. Like Antigone ,Rosalind is very gutsy we understand this when she is sent to exile by her uncle and instead of feeling frightened she puts on a brave face and goes to the garden of Arden in search of freedom .She is quit an interesting character ,for although she smartly believes love to be madness and even tells Orlando whose told her he would die if he can’t have her that "men have died from time to time, and/ worms have eaten them, but not for love" (4.1.18) making her a wise person and yet she allows herself to fully embrace love and experience it and like Antigone whom kills herself goes to rather similar extremes such as working on her beloveds romance skills while dressed as a boy (Ganymede) . Antigone too does many heroic things to show her braveness for example risking all she has for her beliefs and loyalty and even killing herself .She simply feels that she can take her destiny in her own hands . She always wants