Student Essay on Masochism in Tragedy

In one definition of tragedy, pain and pleasure go hand in hand; pain is considered a reasonable and respectable means to find happiness in a doomed life. The tragic figure, blinded by love, willingly suffers to justify his or her cause and to achieve personal satisfaction.

Justification through Pain

The modern definition of tragedy is incomplete; it describes a misfortunate event at a point in time. Aristotle's interpretation of the word calls for "pity and fear" as well, but the pity and fear that Aristotle writes about are forces harnessed by characters that use these extraordinary emotions to prove a greater point about society. These tragic figures are willing to go to extremes because love overcomes their logic, creating a within them a willingness to be a martyr for their glorified cause. Tragedy is a state of being that describes a situation in which a character, blinded by love, willingly suffers to justify their cause and to achieve personal satisfaction. In tragedy, pain and pleasure come hand in hand.

In the beginning of Sophocles' Antigone, "Love, unconquerable" (224) prompts Antigone to defy Creon's mandate.....