Modern Feminism Vs Antigone Feminism

Charles Fourier, a French socialist, first used the term “feminism” to refer to equal rights and social standing of women in 1890s France. Although the meanings of the words have changed over the years, the core principles remain the same. Feminist movements and works emerged in many societies around the globe even before the term was coined and commonly used. To make a piece of work a legitimate feminist piece, there is no “feminist” award. Instead, different interpretations look at these works, movements, protests and other pieces to determine if they are feminist. Antigone by Sophocles is an example of a rising feminist in literature before feminist writings and movements became more common. Antigone is more independent than other women characters because she is the main character of this story. Antigone’s independence makes her an early feminist example. Antigone may not pass the Bechdel Test. However, there are many other modern benchmarks that make Antigone worthy of being called a feminist play. Antigone is unique in that her play’s backing support came from Haimon, her husband, a male character who was critical of female-centric writing. Antigone serves as a gateway to early feminism, linking together modern feminist ideas and morals with aspects of antigone’s past. It is common for strong characters to allow others to help. Antigone is the exact opposite and makes sure she wins every time. Antigone is a determined and focused individual who makes her goals and values known to others before taking action. Although she does not receive any help, she keeps going with her pursuits. Antigone is open about her actions and asks Ismene to “tell everyone” (193). Antigone’s priorities are clear and unambiguous. She will do anything to achieve her goals, no matter what the outcome might be for others. Antigone is driven by her loyalty to her family, which is not a new motivation for literary heroes. She uses her family’s values against her family, but also in support of them. Antigone, who is determined to defeat Creon, is doing so in order to revenge Polyneices. She is also going about her business alone (209) and is proud of her accomplishments. She is a formidable force by herself, despite Creon’s constant threats to her life. She has always been prepared to take on her punishment and has done so since the beginning. These were Antigone’s grudges and desires to be resolved, regardless of whether Ismene agreed to help. Antigone created a less-seen representation for women during this period of writing by acting alone. Despite Antigone achieving her goal on her own, the fact that Antigone did so does not mean she didn’t have support. Haimon, her fiancé, supports her vocally and defends her before her father. He also tries to maintain that personal relationship between his father and him. Haimon’s support for Antigone is not without hesitation, but it’s still an effort to help. This shows Haimon as someone who supports Antigone rather than the traditional male-dominated storyline. Antigone’s goals are almost as important to him (216). He attempts to understand both Creon’s and Antigone’s perspectives and tries to persuade his father to be more open-minded and not to change (219). One could argue that feminism’s most prominent problem throughout history wasn’t lack of support among women, but lack of support for men who saw feminism in danger to their power. Haimon sees nothing wrong with “a woman stronger then [Creon]” but Creon is afraid (218). Haimon has never spoken with Antigone about the topic, but he understands her thoughts and can see no fault in her logic. While he doesn’t always understand Antigone, nor is he completely impartial, his support is rare in that he shows an understanding of her wishes and Haimon. Although he could easily have backed his dad, he chose to take what Creon believed was the weakest path. That is, following a woman as she wins while Creon loses. Bechdel Test has strong links to literary feminism. The Bechdel Test can be passed or failed to determine if two women are speaking about anything else than men in media (Garcia). It is perhaps the most widely known measure of feministism in mass media. However it is flawed in that just one conversation between two females in large media doesn’t necessarily mean that all of the media has been awarded a medal. The Mako mori test continues the Bechdel Test. This analyzes media to find out if the women develop their own narratives. Antigone, Ismene have only one encounter. Yet, Antigone’s motivations almost entirely are based on the unjust funeral of “the brother [she]lov[s]”. (192). Antigone failed the Mako-Mori and modern feminist Bechdel tests because she was driven by her feelings toward her older brother. The Sphinx Theatre test, which is a theater performance-based feminism test, has similar criteria to Antigone’s. The Sphinx Testing, which “examines how prominently female characters are in the action,” whether they are proactive and reactive, whether they avoid stereotypes and the interaction of the characters with other women”, allows Antigone to be compared to older literature. Antigone is proactive and makes sure she is always in control of the situation and is aware of all that is going on. Antigone is also different from other stereotypes about women in literature. Although her story does not revolve around Polyneices as much, she clearly states that what she’s trying to accomplish is also to prove something. Antigone is, in accordance with the Sphinx-Test definitions, feminist prose. Antigone is a pioneering piece of feminist writing that is both women-focused and media-oriented. It also anticipates some of the standards for feminist literature of today. Antigone is able to meet some of the same standards as other media today, even though it uses well-known tests like the Bechdel to measure feminist value. Antigone is distinguished by Haimon’s support for Antigone and her independence throughout the play to let everyone know how strong and determined she is about her beliefs and go to any length to get them. She connects the feminist literature of yesterday and today by breaking through literary barriers as well as meeting the common feminist benchmarks. Modern feminism is not as different as olden ideas of feministism. There are clear differences in the portrayal of women in media. However, strong values can pull through in different places at different times. They uphold the morals, values and essence of basic feminism. References Garcia, David, Ingmar Weber, and Venkata Rama Kiran Garimella. “Gender Asymmetries within Reality and Fiction” Qatar Computing Research Institute 25 Mar. 2013. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.

. Powers, Kelsey. Calvin College Chimes. Calvin College Chimes, 09 November 2015. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.

. Snow, Georgia. A Bechdel Test was developed specifically for theater. This was reported by The Stage. The Stage Media Company Limited. 30 November 2015. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.

. Sophocles. The Oedipus Cycle. Trans. Dudley Fitts, Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1977.