A Comparison of Moral Conflict in Antigone and A Dolls...

Conflict Between Individual Morals and State Laws in Antigone and A Dolls House Mother, should I trust the government? Or should I trust myself? This dilemma is a common one in a great deal of literature. In Antigone and A Doll’s House, the main theme is the question of whether one should be true to oneself or true to one’s state or society. Should Nora (in A Doll’s House) and Antigone (in Antigone) â€Å"follow the rules† and do what the state and society want them to do or should they follow their own consciences? Both plays address the conflict between individual morals and state laws, obedience and disobedience, and understanding oneself. Antigone shows the contrast between state law and†¦show more content†¦For the state and state laws to exist there have to be the people too. The state depends on the people and not just the ruler. Haemon: A one-man state? What sort of a state is that? Creon: Why, does not every state belong to its ruler? Haemon: Youd be an excellent king - on a desert island (Sophocles page #). Haemon questions whether Creons judgements are correct or not (above). For Antigone the divine law is what should be used instead of the state law, which is defined only by what the king wants. Therefore should Haemon and Antigone oppose the state law? The king makes up the main part of the state, and decides whether the laws he makes are fair, and do not object to these laws otherwise he wouldnt be king. Some may think that it is wrong that people should oppose the states laws, and should just follow them, but then they will never get to have their own beliefs and never have a better understanding of themselves in the end. In Antigone there is the state and its laws, but in A Dolls House we see more of the society, and the laws it enforces on the individual. The societys rules prevent the characters from seeing and expressing their true nature. When Krogstad tells Nora that the law takes no account of good motives, she cries, Then they must be very bad laws (Ibsen page #). This causes a problem for the main female characters, in deciding ifShow MoreRelatedA Doll House by Henrik Ibsen7379 Words   |  30 PagesMa. Jennifer S. Yap Dr. Sherwin Perlas World Literature January 14, 2012 A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen Translated by Rolf Fjelde I. Introduction During the late nineteenth century, women were enslaved in their gender roles and certain restrictions were enforced on them by a male dominant culture. Every woman was raised believing that they had neither self-control nor self-government but that they must yield to the control of a stronger gender. John Stuart Mill wrote in his essay, â€Å"The SubjectionRead MoreEssay Prompts4057 Words   |  17 Pageson the Floss The Awakening Moby-Dick Billy Budd Mrs. Dalloway Bleak House Native Son Bless Me,Ultima One Hundred Years of Solitude Catch-22 Othello Crime and Punishment The Scarlet Letter The Crucible Slaughterhouse-Five A Farewell to Arms Song of Solomon Ghosts The Stone Angel The Great Gatsby The Stranger Heart of Darkness A Tale of Two Cities The House of Mirth Their Eyes Were Watching God Jude the Obscure 2003 (Form A): According