[寫作指導] 課堂作文 Essay｜文學課 IB Literature｜女性權利 Women's Rights｜玩偶之家 A Doll's House｜安蒂岡妮Antigone｜學生作品 Writing Clinic

Some literary texts, although set in a particular place or time, convey ideas that are universal. In what ways is this true in two of the works you have studied?



The universal idea of how men control society and oppress women run in literary texts, although set in different places or time, and modern society. The societal system is so-called patriarchy. I would like to compare and contrast A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen in Norwegian in the 19th century, and Antigone by Sophocles before the century in Ancient Greek. The two texts both show an universal idea: women fight for their rights and push against patriarchy. In A Doll’s House, Nora finds how her husband controls her by limiting the allowance he gives her and calls her by nicknames, such as skylark and squirrel as symbols. This is the patriarchal approach of controlling a woman's finances and affecting her with a submissive and innocent self-image. Nora later realizes what her husband does takes away her freedom, so she decides to leave the family to live her own life. In Antigone, Antigone tries to bury her brother, a traitor against her city who is “unburied, unsung, unhallowed by the rites” (42). The alliteration is a reminder by Antigone how unjust and cruel Creon is. However, burying a traitor is not allowed by Creon, the king of the society who contempts any woman who disobeys him and overpowers man. Therefore, Angtinoe is fighting against a big believer of patriatchy. Even though burying a traitor is not allowed by Creon, Antigone challenges the rule and fights for family obligations. Because of the universal idea shared in the two scripts, although set in different places and time, they speak to women’s struggle and bravery against patriarchy. However, the delicate arrangement of the texts have some same elements and some differences that I would like to compare and contrast in the following paragraphs.



Both stories have the ending where patriarchy hurts men too. They lose their beloved ones because they play the role of an oppressor too much. They reflect on their dictatorship and hope to make different choices. The epiphany is a slim hope for men to break patriarchy together with women. In A Doll’s House, Nora divorces her husband in the end. She announces “he is legally freed from all obligations towards her” (90) and she is “no wife” for him. It dawned on him that he put Nora in a lower position. That was why he decided on the finance and nicknames for her all along. He hopes to change the situation but she was determined to leave the family anyway. The regret makes him understand that patriarchy is not the best way in an intimate relationship. Antigone’s Creon, the ruler of the city, had a similar feeling. He sentences Antigone to death because she tried to bury a traitor’s body and breaks the law he made. He then mocks Antigone that “she is a man” (18) because she tries to dominate a man with power. He even lashes at Antigone that she is “smashing against the high throne of Justice!” (34). The symbol strengthens how he despises a law breaker and what she does is a crime. Creon believes that “no woman is going to lord it ” (21) over him while he is alive and being a king. What he means is that she, as a woman, is not allowed to seek power that only belongs to men. But she fights against the society to follow her family obligation, which irritates Creon. However, his wife and son don’t approve of his decision and kill themselves. He howls his regret when he knows that his stubbornness results into his wife and son’s suicides. He realizes that embracing patriarchy doesn’t bring him happiness but misery. The two endings show that men can be devastated by patriarchy. Therefore, patriarchy actually hurts both sexes. The lesson is important for men to ponder over the downsides of patriarchy together with women. And this is the silver lining to fix the society into a better one.



Sisterhood is a key element for women to survive in patriarchy, but not every woman is lucky to have her companion. This is the big difference between A Doll’s House and Antigone, and leads to different endings. In Antigone, Antigone is the only one who tries to fight against patriarchal society in order to complete her family obligation to bury her brother’s corpse. Her sister, Ismene, never tries to fight against patriarchal society. When Antigone asks for her assistance, she rejects the risky proposal to fight men. She responds, “remember we are women” (4), to remind Antigone that men naturally hold power and women do not. Any decision against men is not wise enough and will risk a woman's life. Sadly, Antigone suffers from indifference from both a man and woman. In the end, Antigone was sentenced to death without the support from her sister. On the other hand, in A Doll’s House, not only Nora tries to escape and wants to change the patriarchal system in her house, Mrs. Linde also helps Nora and works together with ideas and connections. Mrs. Linde contacts the bank manager, Krogstad, who threatens Nora to reveal the fraud she made. Mrs. Linde knows he “would gladly do anything” (60) for her because he loved her so much. Mrs. Linde makes sways to Krogstad to stop the evil plan by recalling the old memory in their past relationships and softening his heart. Therefore, Nora escapes from the mind game Krogstad played on her, later finds a new life, and leaves the family cage in the end. Sisterhood is important to sustain women as a community to fight against patriarchy. It makes big changes to women as we can see from the two texts.


Through both plays, A Doll’s house and Antigone work on some same elements and differences. Sisterhood is missing in Antigone while it is the key point in A Doll’s House. However, the endings of both plays suggest that men suffer from patriarchy and want to change it too. The authors of the two texts, then, convey the universal idea that patriarchy has long lived, and women have been fighting for their rights and pushing against patriarchy in different eras.