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What Is The Difference Between Antigone And A Doll's House

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What Is The Difference Between Antigone And A Doll's House
“Women have been taught that, for us, the earth is flat, and that if we venture out, we will fall off the edge.”(Andrea Dworkin) In Antigone by Sophocles and in A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, the women in the play are certainly taught this notion. Despite this, some of the women in the plays test if the Earth is actually flat. The concept of feminism is ubiquitous in both Antigone and A Doll’s House. The protagonists that display feminism are Antigone and Nora.
Antigone demonstrates feminism throughout the play Antigone. In the prologue of play, Antigone makes a courageous and honorable decision to bury her brother against the King’s edict. Her sister Ismene beseeches her to stop and reminds Antigone that they are women. “And do what he has …show more content…
Nora also lies to her husband in a much more severe situation. Nora discloses to Mrs. Linde that while her husband was recovering from his infirmity in Italy, she had to illegally obtain money. However, Nora to preserve her husband’s pride told him that the money came from her father. The fact that Nora does not acknowledge her gender when making these decisions shows how contemporary she is for her time. However, the best example of feminism in the play is the last scene. After Torvald tells how ignominious Nora is for illegally taking money and lying about it to him, Torvald discovers that Krogstad will no longer blackmail him. Torvald is overjoyed and forgives his wife and says how much he loves her. To Torvald’s astonishment, Nora is offended because Torvald was no going to take the blame for her crime like she believed he would do. Therefore, Nora announces she will leave Torvald and her …show more content…
I am sure Christine will take me in for the night. Helmer: You are out of your mind! I won’t allow it! I forbid you! Nora: It is no use in forbidding me anything any longer. I will take with me what belongs to myself. I will take nothing from you, either now or later. (Ibsen 77)
Nora disregards Torvald’s will and even explains how she will only bring her own possessions and not take anything from Torvald. At this time, a women talking back to her husband was already considered a wrongdoing. However, a woman abandoning her family was unheard of. By choosing to leave Torvald, Nora really shows how she is a strong and independent women. Nora exhibits feminism throughout the play. Antigone and Nora both test if the Earth is flat but they discover it is truly round. In other words, they both go past their normal boundaries as women and are able to stand up to men. While Antigone stands up to Creon, Nora stands up to Torvald. The concept of feminism is ubiquitous in both Antigone and A Doll’s House. The protagonists that display feminism are Antigone and
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