In Sophocles’s play Antigone, Antigone is a proud and determined young woman. She believes in the gods to guide her through her life. Antigone made decisions based on spiritual principles, not by the laws set forth by her uncle, Creon, who was the King. Creon represents the laws of the humans. Antigone is selfish and she does not care that she is hurting her loved ones. Antigone made a decision to break the law and everyone around her is suffering for her decision.
Antigone is a self-absorbed person with hubris as a strong characteristic of her personality. She is feeling lonely and angry from the way society looks upon her dead brother, Polyneices, as an outcast and an enemy. It does not matter to Antigone what Polyneices had done. He was her brother and she would stand by him.
Antigone asks for Ismene’s help to bury Polyneices, and when Ismene says she cannot, Antigone fires back with “You may do as you like, since apparently the laws of the gods mean nothing to you” (1427). Poor Ismene is caught between a rock and a hard place. She loves her sister, but she also believes that the laws of the land should be followed to the letter. She tells Antigone, “They mean a great deal to me; but I have no strength to break laws that were made for the public good” (1427). Antigone expresses her anger to Ismene by responding, “That must be your excuse, I suppose. But as for me, I will bury the brother I love” (1427). I believe that Ismene also believes in the powers of the gods, but she was not going to go against Creon to help Antigone. What an impossible position Ismene was put in having to decide what to do to not lose face with Antigone and yet to obey Creon’s laws. Ismene picks the latter choice and just as she thought, Antigone tells her to go away and not bother her anymore. I feel that Ismene is hurt by Antigone’s reaction because they are sisters and Ismene is still alive and is available to love and comfort Antigone, whereas, Polyneices is dead and can offer no comforts to either of them. However, Antigone is possessed with ensuring that her brother has a decent burial and she will listen to no one that gets in her way to stop her from doing it. With Creon being the girls’ uncle, I would think that blood would be thicker than water in this situation. Maybe Creon thinks that if he sets a precedent this time, it will lead to countless requests from other citizens.
One individual that could play a very important role in this dilemma that Antigone has made for herself is her fiancée, Haimon. Haimon is Creon’s son and he has a very loving and close relationship with his father. If Antigone could put her stubborn pride aside and let Haimon help her, everyone could be happy and get what they want. Polyneices would be buried properly and Antigone and Haimon could be married instead of dying tragically. Haimon might be able to convince Creon that what Antigone did by covering her brother in sand is not as severe a crime as Creon thinks it is. He told Creon, “She covered her brother’s body. Is this indecent? Is this a crime? Death?–She should have all the honor that we can give her!” (1441). After all, Polyneices was her brother and she still had a loyalty to him. Also, if Creon were to be sympathetic to Antigone’s case, the citizens might see him in a better light. Creon is not sympathetic and he tells Haimon, “You’ll never marry her while she lives” (1442). Regardless of the fact that his son is in love with Antigone, Creon is not buying Haimon’s ploy to soften him, because of the reason I stated earlier that other people will want concessions if one is given to Antigone, especially since she is his daughter-in-law.
Creon decides that Antigone must die for breaking his law and is to be sent to a dungeon. I guess Ismene’s conscience gets the best of her for not helping Antigone and being there for her sister. She goes to Creon to admit that she helped Antigone bury Polyneices. Even though Antigone said that Ismene had nothing to do with it, Creon said they would both die. I thought this reaction was quite odd considering the two young girls are his nieces. Creon is willing to kill his own family just to save face in the community. In Creon’s mind, his family is the community and his loyalty is to it first.
Antigone once again belittles Ismene for trying to take the blame for something she did not do by telling her, “You shall not lessen my death by sharing it” (1437). What a strange character Antigone is. Her sister is trying to support her and she still rejects her. Ismene is willing to die with her. Maybe Antigone is saving Ismene’s life because she loves her sister and she does not want her pay for something she is falsely admitting, or Antigone wants Ismene to live with the guilt of not being there for her when she first asked. One area that was not explored might be that Ismene held back from supporting Antigone, because maybe she is in love with Haimon. With Antigone gone, Ismene could comfort Haimon during his grieving for Antigone. We do not know a lot about Ismene’s character to make any definite assumptions.
Antigone is an individual who sticks by her convictions no matter what the consequences. She tells Creon, “Then I beg you: kill me” (1436). She is willing to die for breaking a law rather than obeying it. Even though Ismene tries to convince her sister to stop breaking the law, Antigone goes ahead with her actions. Antigone has a wonderful, caring sister and a fiancée waiting for her. She gives more thought and love to her dead brother than to them. Antigone is narcissistic. She only cares about herself at this point in her life. When she is dead, how can she help her brother? He died and will have no idea the sacrifice that Antigone made for him. I wonder how Polyneices’ death affected Ismene. It wasn’t until Antigone was willing to die that she came forward to support her. It seems that Ismene is also narcissistic up until that point. Was Ismene actually willing to die with Antigone or was she trying to the be the noble sister and putting on a good face for the community? I feel that Ismene was actually willing to die with Antigone. At this point, her family is all gone except for Antigone and Ismene will be left alone.
Creon thought that all women were below him in society. For Antigone to challenge him, it probably enraged him even further. Even though she was his niece and future daughter-in-law, he could not lose face with the community and let her get away with breaking his law. Creon was definitely a control freak that had to have things “his way” or “no way”. The very thought of a woman humiliating him in public was the final act of defiance to Creon. He asks Antigone, “Had you heard my proclamation touching this matter?” (1435). She replies, “It was public. Could I help hearing it?” (1435). Antigone sarcastically responded to Creon. Antigone’s reaction made me smile when I read it. Antigone stood up to Creon paying no attention to the fact that he is the King and he feels that she is supposed to obey and respect him.
Creon’s son and wife took their own lives out of sorrow for their losses. Haimon could not live without Antigone and his mother could not live without her son. I also think that Creon’s wife took her life to maybe prove a point to him about his selfish behavior toward women and family. The man she was married to and the father of her child was directly responsible for their son dying. He instructed the killing of his niece which led to Haimon’s death and I think it was too much for his wife to bear. In the end, I think Creon was a broken man. I think he realizes the damage done and that he could have prevented these tragic situations from taking place. Creon laments, “I alone am guilty, and let death come quickly, and be kind to me” (1454).
I wonder what will happen to Ismene now that Antigone and her brothers are gone? Her cousin and Aunt are dead and she only has her Uncle left alive to grieve with. Antigone was the rebel of the two sisters. I think she actually took care of Ismene. Antigone was selfish and she did not care about the love she had while she lived. Even as she was being led away, Antigone did not take responsibility for her actions by saying, “What things I suffer, and at what men’s hands, because I would not transgress the laws of heaven” (1445). Antigone blames everyone else for her problems and she is bitter and unfeeling to the grave. The Chorus told her, “You have made your choice, your death is the doing of your conscious hand” (1445). I agree with the Chorus’ reply because Antigone decided to end her own life of her own free will.
Works Cited
Sophocles. Antigone. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 8th ed.
Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Longman, 2002. 1425-55.