In Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone and Ismene’s straining relationship is held together by a thin thread. Antigone’s father exiles himself then dies. Her brothers’ become the kings; Polyneices deceives them and joins the offenders. Etocles and Polynieces fight and they both die. Creon becomes king and gives Etocles a warrior burial while Polynieces was left for the buzzards. Antigone asks Ismene to help her, Ismene says no, so Antigone does it herself. Creon sentences Antigone to death, she kills herself and Haemon (Creon’s son/Antigone’s fiancé) kills himself. Creon’s wife kills herself receiving the news from the messenger, leaving Creon and Ismene alone. Antigone loves her sister but what type of relationship is there between Antigone and Ismene?
Antigone and Ismene lost their parents when they were young, their ages are debatable but Ismene seems to be the one who takes her brother’s situation a lot more seriously and maturely. “Antigone and Ismene have escaped notice not only as enemy sisters…” (Bennett).
Antigone is the stubborn, free-willed sister who wants to do what’s right and not think about the consequences that will come to play in the future. “This female character takes on a rebellious role quite different from that of the other more docile woman of the time,” (Ashley Bouque). The quote talks about Antigone being different, while Ismene is more docile and does what she is told. Take the Woman rights movement, even though its thousands of years later. Before the Woman rights movement happened, woman did what they were told and followed the rules, like Ismene. After the movement, woman did what they thought were right to them and didn’t care about the rules, like Antigone.
“Antigone: You must decide whether you wil...
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Antigone is a young woman whose moral background leads her to go against the wishes of the king to bury her brother, Polyneices. Sophocles uses Antigone as a character who undergoes an irreversible change in judgment and as a result, ends up dying. Antigone is hero, and she stands for honor, and divinity. Because Antigone's parents were Oedipus and Iacaste, she was born into a family of power; something that she could not change. At times, Sophocles leads the reader into thinking Antigone wishes she was not who she was. Ismene, Antigone's sister, refuses to help Antigone because (as she states) "I have no strength to break laws that wer...
Eventually both Creon and Antigone are destroyed by the gods (and by each other) through their own actions. Antigone is a powerful character, strong-willed, determined and at times self-righteous. She is contrasted by her sister Ismene, who is weak and powerless. Though Antigone is a powerful character, she has no real political power and is dominated by one man, Creon. Creon is both the ruler of the state as well as the patriarch of her family.
At the beginning of the play, Antigone brought Ismene outside the city gates at night for a top secret meeting. Antigone wanted to bury her brother Polyneices' body because even though he died in dishonor he was her brother. Ismene refused to disobey the king which is also their Uncle Creon, and she failed to talk Antigone out of doing the act herself. "Consider, sister, how our father died,/hated and infamous; how he brought to light/his own offenses..Then, mother...did shame/violently on her life, with twisted cords. Third, our two brothers, on a single day...Each killed the other, hand against brother's hand." (Antigone, Lines 59-65) In this quote, Antigone justified her reasons for going against the law describing how her parents went through so much, how their father was banished and due to this their mother had committed suicide because her reputation went down to the drain, even after all that their two brothers went into battle against one another and died in the process. Ismene was sympathetic, but still she was noble and afraid of Creon so she did not offer her help to Antigone.
When Antigone comes to her sister for assistance in burying their brother’s body, Ismene refuses. While this may be seen as an example of her cowardly, docile nature, such as how the line “You ought to realize we are only women” (61) is often interpreted, it shows that Ismene was aware of where she stood in Theban society. It is common knowledge that Ancient Greece was a patriarchy, with women holding little to no political power. Even beyond the fact that she and Antigone are women living in a male-dominated society, Ismene recognizes how low their family has fallen, with herself and Antigone being the children of a kin-slayer and his wife. A reasonable person in Ismene’s situation would most likely have acted in a similar manner, as it would be far too great of a risk to defy Creon. Ismene was simply aware that no one would come to the aid of Oedipus’s daughters when they faced “the edict of death”
One of the conflicts in Antigone, is the struggle between men and women. Ismene tells Antigone that since birth, women “were not born to contend with men,” (75) displaying women’s obedience and passivity. In the same passage, Ismene says: “we’re underlings, ruled by stronger hands,” (76) a representation of men’s aggressive and “stronger hands” that dominate women and treats them as second-class citizens. The only woman in Thebes who desires to break free from these chains is Antigone, who stands up against Ismene’s passivity urging her to “submit to this,” (77) and defy Creon by burying Polynices. By breaking Creon’s edict, Antigone challenges the traditional gender roles women and men play. In what ways does the theme of gender in Antigone, demonstrate the passion and choices behind Antigone and Ismene’s decisions?
Antigone was a selfless person with pride as a strong characteristic of her personality. She possibly had feelings of loneliness and anger from the way society has looked upon her family from their past. It took a strong willed person who has no fear of the repercussions to stand up to a king as she did. To make everything all the worst she stood up to a king who was her Uncle and she being a female back in those time, standing up and speaking out for herself was not heard of.
Antigone and Ismene, although sisters, are almost opposites. While Antigone is bold, proud, and stubborn, Ismene is timid, obedient, and scared. She warns Antigone that
Elizabeth Bobrick’s Sophocles’ Antigone and the Self-Isolation of the Tragic Hero declares “the heroic code may be summarized as follows: I protect my philoi—a term that includes family, kin, loved ones, and loyal community members—and they honor me. To hate my friend is to hate me. To help my enemy is to harm me. Being dishonored by my philoi is the equivalent of death. I will either kill them, or myself, or both.” This can explain Antigone’s excessive desire to bury her brother and even further be supported in lines 25-28 when Antigone challenges her sister’s loyalty. Aristotle himself said that a tragic hero should be neither better nor worse normally than a normal person. With that being said Antigone’s sister, Ismene, was in the same position as her. Originally invoking a sense of naturalism this changes with Ismene’s refusal to help bury their brother. The lack of support for Antigone’s plan leaves her no choice, but distances herself from her sister who obviously doesn’t share the same family loyalty beliefs as her (Lines 77-81). Ismene later in the play tries to claim some guilt in order to help Antigone’s cause. Yet again, Antigone refused to allow her sister to assume any punishment for her crime. Sophocles, Peter Meineck, Paul Woodruff’s Theban plays acknowledges Antigone would rather be dead with her brother than alive with a husband (Line 55-58). This is
Sushma Karki P English 1302 October 10, 2017 Antigone “Antigone” is a Greek tragedy by Sophocles. The story is about a young woman who has a brother by breaking the king’s decree, and now she is punished for obeying God’s law. In the classic model of dramatic structure, two characters move the action of the play from introduction to climax to resolution with their conflict. One of these characters is the protagonist, and the other is the antagonist. The protagonist is a “good guy” and the antagonist is the “bad guy”.
Although both sisters have lost their brothers, Antigone is the only one who will go against her king to do what she knows is right. When Antigone asks her sister if she will help her bury their brother Polyneices, Ismene responds with, “We are only women; we cannot fight with men, Antigone! The law is strong; we must give into the law…” (Ismene 774). Naturally, Ismene should be afraid for herself, as well for the safety of her sister because what Antigone is asking of her will mostly likely cause them both to be killed. However, she should be braver like Antigone, and realize that she must do what is morally right for their family, and give her brother the proper burial that he deserves. Afterward, when Antigone has already been captured, Ismene then comes forth to try and share the punishment that has been given to Antigone, but Antigone tells King Creon that she has done nothing. In addition, when Creon asks Ismene if she had anything to do with the crime, and Antigone denies it, Ismene then replies, “But now I know what you meant; and I am here to join you, to take my share of punishment” (Ismene 785). Although now Ismene feels like she needs to stand up to the King and do what is right for her
In Greek society following the king's rule and laws put forth was commenced and even expected however adhering to one's family and most importantly the gods is a compulsory act. By contrasting the notions of the two sisters- Antigone and Ismene- as both give importance to family- Antigone follows her dedication to her bloodline, while Ismene favors obeying authority. Antigone does not falter with her actions even when Ismene firmly argues against her stating: “Bury him! You have just said the new law forbids it.” Antigone: “He is my brother. And he is your brother, too.” (PAGE NUMBER) Antigone is determined to honor her family member although he was considered a traitor to Thebes- overlooking the King and the laws set forth. She outshines her sister, as she remains unyielding even
Antigone’s own excessive pride drives her to her defeat. Her arrogance and strive for self-importance blinds her to the consequences of her actions. Ismene, Antigone’s sister, rejects to take part in the crime leaving Antigone all on her own. Ismeme declares “why rush to extremes? Its madness, madness” (Sophocles 80). Ismene fails to comprehend the logic behind her siste...
In meeting Ismene, the reader is introduced to a wiser and obedient woman in terms of her understanding where she stands socially and realizing the consequences of rebellious actions. Ismene, throughout the play, serves as a tool by helping Antigone to become more resolute in her actions. Ismene has suffered just as much as Antigone, "no joy or pain has come my way" (16) Ismene says. Yet although she concedes that the sisters "were robbed of our two brothers" (17), she still accepts the will of the King "I must obey the ones who stand in power"(18).
“...never let some woman triumph over us. Better to fall from power, if fall we must, at the hands of a man —never be rated inferior to a woman, never.” This quote spoken by Creon, in Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Antigone, adequately represents the opinion on women during the time in which Antigone would have been alive. Women were viewed as lower than men and were expected to be docile and passive. They were expected to never object to a man’s words, no matter if those words were to be unfair or unjust. Despite this, Antigone refuses to follow one of the most fundamental teachings of her culture by burying her brother even though the king, Creon, explicitly forbids the action, since her brother is a traitor. She rebelliously does what she feels is right, which cannot be said for her sister, Ismene. Ismene represents what a woman of her time was viewed as: weak and submissive to men’s
In one of the opening scenes, the fluctuating emotions of the heated dialogue between Ismene and Antigone takes place. The two sisters take turns evoking passion and subjectiveness on their role as people in this world, but more specifically as civilians of Greece. Antigone has the mentality that she owes her duty of being an obedient family member (Johnson 370). Likewise, Ismene fears for her sister’s life and tries to persuade her that her allegiance may lay too strongly in the wrong place. Both women ultimately value family, however, they are split between whom they are most considerate to and immediately cause the audience to take sides.