In the plays Antigone and A Doll's House, playwrights discuss gender roles and how they relate to the characters in each individual play. Antigone, by Sophocles, follows a young girl who defies a law enacted by King Creon against the burial of her brother, who fought against their city in the recent war. Creon orders her to be executed, but she ends up committing suicide. In A Doll's House, by Henrik Ibsen, a wife named Nora asks for a loan on her own, unacceptable for a woman in that time period, and tries to appease the creditor who threatens to reveal her loan. Eventually, Nora's husband Torvald finds out about the loan and Nora ends up leaving him. In each of these works, Sophocles and Ibsen offer insight into the problems faced by independent, headstrong, and courageous women. In each of these works, the protagonist is a woman who is very independent-minded, but is limited by society in what she is able to do for herself. For example, after Antigone buries Polyneices, she tries to defend what she did to Creon. However, he refuses to listen to her because he doesn't want to seem like he would listen to a woman (Sophocles 37). His refusal shows that men should be dominant over women and that a man listening to a woman is not masculine. It also represents the idea that during this time period women do not have valuable opinions. Furthermore, in A Doll's House, Nora is criticized for taking the loan herself, such as when Mrs. Linden says, "Why, a wife can't borrow without her husband's consent!" (Ibsen 151). This criticism demonstrates the idea that women are not capable of making their own decisions and deciding things on their own. It also demonstrates the belief that only men have the common sense to close a deal, and w...... middle of paper.......n tried to intimidate her before and that she would be so bold in his presence. The criticisms faced by the characters in the plays demonstrate the idea that women are inferior to men and should not speak for themselves. Each work represents the problems faced. from each genre during the time period in which it was written, however, many of the issues are similar in each time period, as well as throughout much of history. These problems will likely continue to affect both women and men long into the future. Works Cited Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House World literature: an anthology of great stories, poetry and theatre. Columbus, Ohio: McGraw Hill Glencoe, 2004.140-202. Print.Sophocles. Antigone. World Literature: An Anthology of Great Stories, Poetry, and Drama. Columbus, Ohio: McGraw Hill Glencoe, 2004. 14-57. Press.