Jeffrey Shelton
C LIT 300
11/8/02
Reading Response #7 - Oedipus at Colonus

The nature of gender relations was very interesting to me while I read Oedipus at Colonus. Oedipus states in relation to his sons that “the men sit within doors working at the loom while the wives go out to get the daily bread” (368-370) in relation to their residence in a country such as Egypt. It was interesting to see Oedipus speak of his sons in a feminine sense due to their negative actions against him. It seemed that loyalty is looked at upon in that society is a masculine attribute and the loyalty of Antigone and Ismene goes against the norm. It is interesting how Oedipus states that his daughters take on the role of the male in their struggle to bear their fathers troubles. The fact that society finds women as simple people who serve the purpose of marriage and uncomplicated actions is fascinating in relation to current stereotypical gender roles. Oedipus furthers the notion that his daughters portray masculine attributes when he states “these very nurses. They are men, not women, in bearing troubles with me, you are no sons of mine, you are someone else’s” (1561-1563) to his son Polyneices. Polyneices in the eyes of his father is no more man than any of his daughters and because of his betrayal and disobedience he shows no masculine attributes. It must have been disorienting within the time period of the play that two females take on the role of the male and gender roles are