In Antigone, Sophocles introduces us
            to the first great feminist hero, Antigone.  She is
            outspoken against a man, the King.  In terms of
            psychoanalysis, Antigone follows the gods laws (superego)
            and not the need for revenge (id), thereby exposing Creon's self-serving behavior.  In
            terms of Marxist theory, Antigone is a hero to the proles
            because refuses to marry the prince and live a life of luxury.  Not only that, but she
            chooses to defy martial law and bury her brother, knowing that she would receive the
            death penalty.  Her existential predicament, though, is
            whether or not to commit suicide.  Rather than have her fate determined for her, she
            determines her own.
In Oedipus, we
            have the proletariat suffering from the sins of the bourgeoisie
            (Marxism): the plague upon the children is brought upon
            them by the incest and regicide of the Royal House of Thebes.  Unlike Antigone, we have
            Queen Jocasta who follows the patriarchal order to protect her status: she is in denial
            of the truth and freedom.  She, therefore, goes against the ideals of
            feminism and Marxism.
             However, Joacasta, is in the same existential predicament, for she commits suicide, not
            to escape public execution, but because of shame.  She, therefore, is no existential
            hero either.  Oedipus is the existential hero: he refuses
            to kill himself; instead, he punishes himself and suffers the responsibility of knowing
            the truth.
No comments:
Post a Comment