Overcoming the Barrier Essay -- Analysis, Helen Reddy

Overcoming the Barrier Helen Reddy in I am a Woman sings, â€Å"You can bend but never break me, 'cause it only serves to make me, More determined to achieve my final goal, And I come back even stronger.† In the plays Antigone, by Sophocles, and A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen, two strong women are restricted by the time and society in which they live. In Antigone, the main character, Antigone from Thebes, is faced with a choice of following the laws of man, or the laws of the gods in burying her deceased brother. She felt that her choice was right even with the penalties it costs her, while arguing with the king who felt his way or no way. As the play progressed, it seemed that the more Creon, the king, and Antigone argued, the more confident in the choice she made she became. In A Doll’s House, Nora was a woman who cared deeply about her husband who would soon be faced with death if not sent to a warmer climate. Unheard of from a woman, Nora took a money loan from the bank without s aying a word to her husband, Torvald. Using a corrupted lawyer, Krogstad, gave easy access for blackmail which could end her marriage if revealed. During the times in which these plays were written, the relationship between a man and woman is definitely patriarchal. Men have major dominance and the woman just follows. It was believed that a woman was to have no opinion nor be smart enough to have their own opinion. In both plays, Sophocles and Ibsen show how controlled yet bold, women had to be in society through demonstration of submission to men, the expectations placed upon a woman, and their search for a voice. There is a saying that all habits start in the household and that is no exception for the way woman are treated. Whether it’s a husband or... ...oldly demonstrate the strength and power women needed to become their own person. With barriers blocking the path, the choices each woman had to face was like an obstacle course. By being undermined by the opposite sex, females were not given much thought unless the subject had to do with the raising of children and up keeping of a household. Being a part of society came with expectations of how a family should look and act, especially for the women who are merely â€Å"dolls† for men to control. Therefore, having to surrender to the male influence, society’s pressure, and the quest for identity, women still are able to stand firm and strong in the end. Over many years women have come a long way with rights and responsibilities but it was no walk in the park. It has been a curvy road and there are still more hills to come but with a positive light shinning at the end.