Womens Role in Macbeth and Antigone Essay

Words: 1564
Pages: 7

Throughout many pays and novels, women have had important roles of helping form the main characters, in the way they think, move or change the story. Women have always been subordinate to men all through history, but in plays, novels, short stories, etc, they have been given large enforcing roles, showing the power within women. William Shakespeare and Sophocles use guilt, pride, and influence to demonstrate the importance of the women’s role to support the main characters in both the plays of Macbeth and Antigone.
In Macbeth and Antigone the authors created guilt for the women to use against the main characters for their advantage. Macbeth exploits Lady Macbeth to balance Macbeth in the play; many say that Lady Macbeth put guilt on
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In Antigone, Antigone was caught covering her brother’s dead body with sand, the watch guards took her to Creon, the king who enforced the law of no burial for betrayers. He only asked for her excuse and how she did nothing, but she stood her ground. He asked her if she denies what the guards told him. (Sophocles 783) “I do. I deny nothing.” Antigone’s undersized but sturdy phrase. Sophocles wrote this line to demonstrate her pride in what she did, she loved her brother even if he was disloyal to the city, and she wanted everyone to know that she stood for what she thinks is right; that no matter what you do, you deserve a proper burial.
In Macbeth and Antigone, Lady Macbeth and Antigone prove pride is a main attribute to their strong characteristics in the plays. Shakespeare sets up each character with their own personalities; he gave Lady Macbeth this pathetic character, but is covered up with a prevailing and proud outside. It eventually gives out but she is a ride for your money till she cracks. In Antigone, Sophocles creates this burly, dominant, and proud woman. Antigone, young but great, understands that pride is something you learn by doing something great, such as acting out against the law. Especially for a woman, to have a physically powerful main part is a great stunt pulled by Sophocles. Both characters form the plays have pride from going against the main character, but Lady Macbeth is pride in her husband and getting what she