In Sophocles' play Antigone and Marjane Satrapi's Novel Persepolis, the two main characters in both pieces are quite similar. Based on both of the main characters, Antigone from Antigone and Marji from Persepolis set out the role of a modern feminist. Both Antigone and Marjane have a big reason for why they are fighting for themselves and others around them. Antigone the daughter of Oedipus, breaks the social rules by going against the government. Marji is a young Iranian girl's experience in the autobiographical graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. Satrapi's book largely deals with the unequal treatment of women in Iran after the Islamic Revolution, which led to strict rules imposed on women's dress and the complete segregation of men and women. Both characters have their points to fight about, they both show what feminism is and what are their limitations to it.
At the beginning of the play, the sons of Oedipus, Eteocles, and Polynices decide that they are dead. The two brothers killed each other over the throne. Creon, the current ruler at that period, announces Polynices as a traitor to Thebes. Antigone who knows that will anger the god, decides to bury her brother Polyneices. When Creon finds out that Antigone is going to bury her brother, Creon holds captive of her and threats to kill her. For example, She went against the rule of going against a male authority: 'But I will bury him; and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy; I shall lie down with him in death, and I shall be as dear to him as he to me, no matter what Creon may say, he is my brother and who is he to decide his fate when he is dead” (prologue). This relates to the point of modern feminism because she is straightforward in specifying Creon's wishes and standing up for herself, her brother Polyneices, and the truth at once. Anyhow, Antigone is compared to a man several times for standing up for her beliefs that she believes in and being a feminist: “This girl is guilty of a double insolence, breaking the given laws and boasting of it, Who is the man here, She or I if this crime goes unpunished?” (ii: 38-40). Antigone never gives up on herself and her dead brother. Being a feminist in ancient Greece was rare and not that much of women had an act of courage to go against the law and males. She shows the case of a modern feminist and what a modern feminist will do nowadays.
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Marji in Persepolis also shows the signs of a modern feminist as well, this novel deals with the unequal treatment of women in Iran after the Islamic revolution, which opposed strict rules imposed on women's dress and the most common segregation of men and women. Marji being from a respectful family, found the new changes to deal with and how feminism is a whole major theme of this novel. In Iran back then, Men used women as objects. For example, The two fundamentalists insulted Marji's mom, just because she didn't wear the veil: “They insulted me, they said that women like me should be pushed up against the wall and fucked” (4,74). If she had worn the veil, nothing would have happened to her. Likewise, Marji's parents see education as really important for their daughter because it will give her the info that she needs to become a strong and independent woman. Since the government is strict with education for women, Marji ends up expelled from school because she went against the principal but Marji has a force to achieve her goals successfully: “ I wanted t to be an educated, liberated woman, and if the pursuit of knowledge meant getting cancer, so be it… And so another dream went up in smoke” (6-7, 73). These two quotes show how feminist Marji is and what she can do to stop all these troubles and gender qualities. A modern feminist will do this and fight for herself, going against the government and the laws.
Imagine not being able to get the same education, job, or treatment as a man, simply because you’re a woman.
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