c in the modern sense in that both have the courage to leave their family and lifestyle behind for the radically different culture of India. Olivia sacrifices everything for her love of Nawab and the narrator also risks social ostracism by taking an Indian lover. The narrator is a kindred spirit with Olivia and makes the same sacrifices to know her grandfather's first wife, "More and more I want to find out; but I suppose the only way I can is to do the same she did-that is, stay on" (Jhabvala 160). While these women sacrifice for love and personal growth, their condition does not qualify for the definition of a tragic hero.
Antigone, in contrast, understands that she is of noble lineage. As such, she believes she is to obey only the gods or a higher power, not a manmade law or human ruler. She knows Creon is the King and knows he is the head of state. We see this when she calls him "Captain" in explaining his law to Ismene (Sophocles 442 BCE). As such, her pride in refusing to obey Creon's law is what will bring about her reversal of fortune and lead to her recognition of hatred that evokes pity in the audience. It also invokes fear. Antigone knows death will be her punishment for her action but she stubbornly insists on burying her brother anyway. Ismene is not heroic. She tells Antigone she has "fear" of the law because of the consequences of breaking it that befell her father (Sophocles 442 BCE).
While Olivia and the narrator are driven by a higher purpose, it is more of a self-interested purpose or personal quest than Antigone's journey. Abandoning their English lifestyle and reputation to live as
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