Author Shannon Alder once said, “Often those who criticize others reveal what he himself lacks.” Essentially what Alder is saying is that the things we find fault with in others are actually the things we don't have and therefore desire. In their works, Salome and Antigone, authors Oscar Wilde and Sophocles, respectively, use this theory to show how women exercise power over men. Both female protagonists in their stories are criticized for their masculine characteristics: vigorous lust, strength, and independent thinking, among other things. It is these criticisms that lead men to unknowingly relinquish their power to women, as women who embody certain masculine characteristics threaten the power of their male adversaries. However, by attacking their male rivals with the same qualities that males use to attack others, these women become victims of the same fatal flaws that their adversaries suffer from, leading to their deaths. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayIn both stories, Antigone and Salome gain power by exhibiting traditionally masculine characteristics and exercise this power over men who are threatened by women's brokenness. the gender binary. Antigone has the power of free thought, which is not traditionally a feminine characteristic. In an age where women are expected to be subservient to men and base their behavior and decisions on what a man tells her, Antigone challenges the gender binary and thus gains power through her ability to think independently. When Antigone talks to her sister Ismene about burying her brother even if it meant disobeying the law, she says, “Creon is not strong enough to hinder me” (Sophocles, 191). The simplicity of her language and her sassy tone are very unusual for a stereotypical woman in that time period. She speaks with such conviction and confidence, which is much more typical of a man. This proclamation by Antigone shows that even by the second page of the play, she is challenging gender norms and intends to be as powerful if not more powerful than the king himself. Antigone indeed exhibits traditionally masculine characteristics, but it is the consequence of her behavior that is most noteworthy. By challenging gender stereotypes and questioning the stability of Creon's empire and his authority, she is able to exert power over him and even take it away from him. This is demonstrated when Antigone exerts her power over Creon by demoting him to less than a man due to his questionable morals: “Yet, as the hearts of men know, I have done no wrong” (226). As explained in my previous essay on Antigone, the juxtaposition between “men” who would know they had not sinned, and Creon, who believes he had sinned, shows Antigone's defiance of Creon's power. Much of his power comes from his belief that he is a man and therefore intrinsically superior to women, but Antigone, by invalidating his claim to manhood, gives her power and takes away his. Likewise, Salome behaves in certain ways that are traditionally masculine. In romantic situations, women should be mild and flirtatious, while men should be hungry and act on their desires. Salome embodies the masculine characteristic of vigorous lust in her interactions with the prophet Jokanaan. She tells him: “I am in love with your body, Jokanaan… I will kiss your mouth, Jokanaan. I will kiss your mouth” (Oscar Wilde, 16-17). The erotic and assertive tone of this quote is revealingSalome's expression of traditionally male stereotypes regarding lust and eroticism. This inappropriate and impulsive exclamation by Salome to the prophet shows that she challenges gender norms and disempowers Jokanaan by figuratively stripping him and depriving him of his dignity, as men might stereotypically do to women. As in Antigone, it is the implications of Salome's masculine behavior that are most important. King Herod is used to getting what he wants as king, and what he wants is Salome. However, by being unchaste and sensual rather than compliant, she takes away Herod's power and does not allow him to get what he wants. She takes away a key component of his manhood by taking it for herself. When Herod commands Salome to drink wine with him, eat fruit with him, and sit with him, she responds consistently, “I am not thirsty, Tetrarch…. I'm not hungry, Tetrarch.... I am not tired, Tetrarch..." (Wilde, 22-23). Her steadfast disobedience of Herod's request to spend time with him suggests her rejection of his desire for her and the power she is able to exert over him by embodying a traditionally masculine characteristic and using it against him. Overall, both Salome and Antigone are capable of using masculine characteristics against the men in their lives, but they differ in the characteristics they embody and the specific threat they pose to male authority. Antigone and Salome are both hypocrites, however, because they embody male authority. very masculine characteristics that they fight against and criticize, which ultimately results in their loss of power. Antigone aims to challenge Creon's power and not let herself be controlled by him just because he is a man and she is a woman. However, in speaking against the State and politics, he embodies the very language of the State against which he is rebelling, as my partner, Johnny Armenta, pointed out to me. When asked if she will confess to the crime, she replies “I deny nothing” (Sophocles, 208). By neither denying her crime nor explicitly admitting it, she is practicing traditional laws, such as not incriminating herself. Johnny pointed out that, by using the rhetoric of written state law, Antigone challenges Creon by using his rules of the game and his playbook, and in doing so, she is hypocritical. While fighting Creon, he literally uses the same diction and speaking style that he would have used to rule Thebes. Similar to Antigone, Salome also displays hypocrisy. Salome becomes angry when Jokanaan does not desire her, but then she does not want to be desired by Herod. Salome looks at Jokanaan, but becomes angry when Herod looks at her. In this sense, she adopts the same body language as Herod and is as hypocritical in objectifying Jokanaan as Herod objectifies her. As demonstrated in the previous paragraph, Salome refuses all of Herod's invitations to spend time with him, which shows her disapproval and dislike of Herod's desire for her. However, she is hypocritical because she does to Jokanaan exactly what Herod does to her. At the end of the play, Salome laments, “You would / have nothing of me, Jokanaan. Even if you rejected me” (Wilde, 43). Her dark tone shows Salome's dissatisfaction with her relationship with Jokanaan because he didn't want her like she wanted him. However, this is ironic because she refused to satisfy Herod the same way Jokanaan refused to satisfy her. Overall, both Salome and Antigone are hypocritical in the way they embody the language – both literal and bodily – of the authority figures they fight against. Although they are both similar in masculine traits and hypocrisy, they are different in that Antigone has the personal power and strength to rebel but Salome only gets the power from Herod. This is demonstrated by the nature of each death,.