The Civil Disobedience of Antigone and Mrs. Hale Civil disobedience is the intentional breaking of a law to demonstrate that it is unconstitutional or morally defective. In the plays Antigone and Trifles the female protagonists commit an act of civil disobedience. The plays are written by Sophocles and Susan Glaspell respectively. Antigone, the protagonist of Antigone, protects her dead brother's honor while disobeying King Creon's laws. Mrs. Hale, the protagonist of Trifles, prevents a neighbor from being accused of murder while breaking the law in front of two lawmen: the sheriff and the county attorney. Both characters' crimes are similar; however, the differences lie in how they handle violations. Antigone breaks the law with courage and pride, does not worry about being caught, and loudly admits the crime in front of her fellow Theban citizens. On the other hand, Mrs. Hale carries out her crime skillfully and silently, she does not want to be caught and has no intention of reporting her crime. Both characters perform their tasks, but Mrs. Hale's actions are performed more effectively. She saves her neighbor and herself from prison. In both plays, the main characters break laws for justifiable reasons. In Antigone, Antigone's dead brother Polyneices is considered a traitor and King Creon "forbids anyone to bury him, to mourn him" (Sophocles 88). He knows that all men deserve a proper burial and not doing so would be "a sacred insult to the gods!" (Sophocles 95). Therefore, she “raises a mound for him [Polyneices]” (Sophocles 95) so that her city will not have to “face the punishment of the gods” (Sophocles 512). He violates King Creon's decree to appease his gods. In Trifles, Mrs. Hale... center of paper... civil disobedience causes a tragic domino effect. Antigone commits suicide. Haemon, son of Creon and fiancé of Antigone, committed suicide, torn apart by grief. Haemon's mother and Creon's wife, Eurydice, learns of her son's death. She becomes discouraged and takes her own life: "With her own hand she guided to the heart, when she knew that her son was dead" (Antigone 1440-1441). His words put an end to many things. The law is banned. His brother is allowed to be buried, but is now accompanied by three others. Sophocles' Antigone and Glaspell's Mrs. Hale both fulfill their duties. Antigone's glorified act of civil disobedience costs many lives and has horrific consequences. Mrs. Hale's modest act of civil disobedience saves lives. There is no doubt that Mrs. Hale's whisper of defiance achieved greater results than Antigone's screams of rebellion.