In an effort to circumscribe the notion of defiance, I trace a trajectory that unfolds across different moments. I describe the constitution of defiance through the confrontation between Antigone and Creon in Antigone. I present this notion as a form of resistance that is involuntary and materially inscribed, in accordance with materialist Discourse Analysis. Through the work of Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, I offer a critique of the separation between the public and private spheres, highlighting how defiance exposes their equivocality. Finally, I analyze an image that captures the insolent gesture of a Palestinian girl who intervenes in response to the aggression of an Israeli soldier against another child. Defiance enables vulnerable bodies to break forth in the face of the tyranny of monumental powers.