Question

Read the excerpts from "The Royal House of Thebes" and "The Story of a Warrior Queen."

Ismene weeping came from the palace to stand with her sister. "I helped do it," she said. But Antigone would not have that. "She had no share in it," she told Creon. And she bade her sister say no more. "Your choice was to live," she said, "mine to die."

As she was led away to death, she spoke to the bystanders:—

. . . Behold me, what I suffer
Because I have upheld that which is high.

–"The Royal House of Thebes"

Then taking a golden cup in her hands, "Drink," she said gently.

The eldest daughter obeyed proudly and gladly, but the younger one was afraid. "Must I, mother?" she asked timidly.

"Yes, dear one," said Boadicea gently. "I too will drink, and we shall meet again."

When the Roman soldiers burst in upon them, they found the great queen dead, with her daughters in her arms.

She had poisoned both herself and them, rather than that they should fall again into the hands of the Romans.

–"The Story of a Warrior Queen"

What qualities of the tragic heroine do both of these passages reveal? Select three options.

They both show the main character sacrificing her life for her principles.
They both show the main character breaking rules to follow her own moral code.
They both show the main character experiencing a downfall and awaiting death.
They both show moments in the main characters' experiences that evoke pity.
They both show the main character revealing wisdom to people around her.

Answer 1

- They both show the main character sacrificing her life for her principles.
- They both show moments in the main characters' experiences that evoke pity.
- They both show the main character revealing wisdom to people around her.