Volume II Special Issue VI June 2022

Name of Author : Asra Afrin

Title of the paper : A Study of the Sophoclean Female Characters with Reference to Electra and Antigone

Abstract: Sophocles was a fifth century Greek playwright. He wrote hundred and twenty plays, out of which only seven tragedies survive in their full length. This paper considers two tragedies of Sophocles Electra and Antigone, to analyse the female characters. The paper throws light on the construction of gender in Greek society and the resisting female characters from the select plays. Women in the fifth century Greek culture were considered subordinate to men. They didn’t have the right to vote in the assembly or buy property. They looked after the family and property of their husbands. Sophoclean female characters are heroic in nature. They challenge the social and cultural norms. The paper analyzes the actions of women characters in the select tragedies who take up the tasks that are considered to be the brave acts of men. The paper focuses on the female characters resisting the norms that subordinate them and subject them to be inferior to men.

Keywords : Patriarchy- Male-dominant social system, Heroic- Courageous/ relating to heroism

DOI :

Page Number : 33-35