Defense Mechanisms: Antigone’s Rationalization of Suicide “Count no man happy till he dies, free of pain at last.” (Sophocles) The royal line of Laius bears the curse of tragedy. A godly malediction that seemingly could have been avoided many times by his regal descendants. Indeed, Oedipus’ daughter, Antigone, could have had a reprieve for the mistakes of the past, yet she chose not to; instead she sought to embrace her kin’s demise. Knowing in full that she would be pleasing the gods with her defiance of mortal laws, Antigone found a reason to tempt fate, and thus her life would wither away only to be reborn again in the afterlife. This production of Antigone, the last play of the Oedipus Rex trilogy, will focus on Antigone’s masochistic …show more content…
It can be seen floating away slowly towards the fields) yours and mine, (turns around to face Ismene) And now what is the proclamation they tell of made lately by the commander, publicly to all the people? Do you know it? Have you heard it? (With a condemning tone, she opens her arms and faces the palace briefly) Don’t you notice when the evils due to enemies are headed toward those we love? (Then, she returns to her calm tone when directing the question to Ismene, faces her) Ismene: Not a word, Antigone, of those we love, (Nods) either sweet or bitter, has come to me since the moment when we lost our brothers, on one day, by their hands dealing mutual death. (She washes her hands in the river) Since the Argive army fled in this past night, (She looks at the remains of weapons scared over the desolate landscape in front of the Thebian palace) I know of nothing further, nothing (She raises her hands slightly to show that she is telling the truth) of better fortune or of more destruction. Antigone: I knew it well; that is why I sent for you to come outside the palace gates to listen to me, privately. Ismene: What is it? Certainly your words (annoyed tone) come of dark …show more content…
(She looks at the crows on the palace’s roof) There you have it; soon you will show yourself (In a condescending tone) as noble both in your nature and your birth, or yourself as base, although of noble parents. (She touches Ismene’s delicate purple chiton) Ismene: If things are as you say, poor sister, how can I better them? How loose or tie the knot? (She turns around and looks at the palace while touching her neck with a concerned expression. This foreshadows Antigone’s death) What kind of danger is there? How far have your thoughts gone? (In an outraged tone to imply that Antigone has gone mad) Antigone: Here is this hand. Will you help it lift the dead man? (She takes Ismene’s hand. This implies that Antigone is dead inside. Ismene is still looking at the palace and has not turned around) … Ismene: Now there are only two of us left behind, and see how miserable our end shall be (Slight pause before saying our) if in the teeth of law we shall transgress (She bites her
Antigone holds her love of family, and respect to the dead, elevated beyond the laws of Creon, whom she believes, has no righteous justification to close his eyes to the honor of the deceased. In her determination to fulfill Polynices' rights, she runs directly into Creon's attempts to re-establish order. This leads to encounters of severe conflict between the dissimilarities of the two, creating a situation whereby both Creon and Antigone expose their stubbornness and self will.
Within these lines, Antigone reveals that she holds herself sanctimonious over her king by admitting his punishment is “nothing” compared to the “agony” she will face if she leaves her brother unburied. She also conveys a nonchalant attitude towards the repercussions of her action when she mocks Creon accusing him of being a “fool.” Although Antigone is aware that others such as her sister, Ismene and her fiancée, Haemon—the son of Creon, may suffer because of her act of civil disobedience, she is unwilling to abandon her protest to negotiate in a peaceful manner. This conduct implies that she does not completely comprehend the seriousness of her action or understand the weight of her crime rendering her approach inconsistent with King’s theory.
Antigone believes that a woman should be intrepid and strong, even at the risk of challenging men’s authority. When she proposes to bury Polynices, Ismene answers, “we’re not born to contend with men”. (75) Antigone’s response, “that death will be a glory” (86), does not directly address gender issues, but it expresses her fury at Ismene’s passivity. After the burial of Polynices, Antigone defiantly states, “I did it. I don’t deny a thing,” while being interrogated by Creon (492) and later comments that she was “not ashamed for a moment, not to honor my brother”. (572-3) Antigone’s gallant speech and defiance toward traditional gender identities audaciously shows her revolutionary desire for gender equality.
In Sophocles' most famous Theban play consisting of two parts, "Oedipus the King" and "Antigone", both parts are necessary in understanding some of the things that happened around them, and what type of man had raised Antigone. She is the main character in the play of “Antigone”.
Antigone was dejected with Creon’s ruling and decided to bury Polynices herself. She tried to enlist Ismene to help her, but Ismene was to afraid. Antigone furiously continued with the plan on her own. A sentry discovered Antigone and brought her to Creon. Ismene was also brought to Creon and confessed that she had helped Antigone with the burial rites of Polynices. Antigone stopped Ismene and told her not to admit to an act that she had not committed. Antigone took sole responsibility for the burial and claimed that Creon had no right to forbid the burial of Polynices. Ismene pleaded with Creon to spare Antigone’s life for the sake of Haemon, Creon’s son.
...e worst of deaths – death without honor.” In a way Antigone is blaming Ismene for not helping her but in a way she is not.
Antigone understands that she will suffer personal torment if she does not carry out her proceedings (burying her brother). “But if I had let my own brother stay unburied I would have suffered all the pain I do not feel now. And if you decide what I did was foolish, you may be fool enough to convict me.
But there is no help for it. When your name is Antigone, there is only one part you can play; and she will have to play hers until the end. (3) Knowing that her youthful rebellion will result in her death, they can only join Chorus in watching the affair. As members of the community, they must inevitably share some guilt for her
Antigone risks her own life to bury her brother, therefore, she goes against Kreon’s edict that Polyneices should be left unburied; she believes Polyneices deserves to reach the afterlife. Antigone tells Ismene, “I will bury him myself. If I die for doing that, good: I will stay with him, my brother; and my crime will be devotion” (Sophocles 23). Antigone is willing to risk her own life by disobeying the king’s authority; She stands up for her religious belief that Polyneices should be buried. Kreon tells Antigone before she takes her own life, “I won’t encourage you. You’ve been condemned” (Sophocles 57). Kreon believes that Antigone’s crime is severe, and righteousness should be used to justify her crime. At this point of the play, Antigone realizes she will be put to death, but she does not regret her act of loyalty. In Antigone’s last speech before she takes her own life, she exclaims, “Land of Thebes, city of my fathers… see what I suffer at my mother’s brother’s hand for an act of loyalty and devotion” (Sophocles 57). Here, Antigone addresses the nation’s leaders and declares that they should notice th...
Bennett, Blake Tyrell and Larry J. "Enemy Sisters: Antigone and Ismene." 2013 . Project Muse. 20 March 2014 .
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”.
In the Antigone, unlike the Oedipus Tyrannus, paradoxically, the hero who is left in agony at the end of the play is not the title role. Instead King Creon, the newly appointed and tyrannical ruler, is left all alone in his empty palace with his wife's corpse in his hands, having just seen the suicide of his son. However, despite this pitiable fate for the character, his actions and behavior earlier in the play leave the final scene evoking more satisfaction than pity at his torment. The way the martyr Antigone went against the King and the city of Thebes was not entirely honorable or without ulterior motives of fulfilling pious concerns but it is difficult to lose sight of the fact that this passionate and pious young woman was condemned to living imprisonment.
Antigone utilizes her moral foundations, her religious roots, and the events of her past to form a sophisticated argument. Despite being unable to convince Creon to reverse her punishment, Antigone is able to convince the people of Thebes that she was right in her actions. After Antigone’s death, and the deaths of several others, Creon reflects on this monologue and realizes the honest truth behind Antigone’s actions and words.
In this essay, I will be exploring the notions of violence in Sophocles’ Antigone. In examining these notions, I will be referring to and explaining both Hannah Arendt’s ‘On Violence’ and Walter Benjamin’s ‘Critique on Violence’. By referring to these two political philosophers, key theories and terms relating to violence are discussed and analysed, and the play Antigone is examined in the context of these two essays
Antigone if she is caught. As the play moves on there is a building of this fear and pity that is felt for many of the characters that finally is resolved at the catastrophe. At that point the reader learns that Creon, the king, has lost his wife, his son, and his niece Antigone, all because he was too stubborn to give in as well as to afraid that if he did give in that he would be judged as an easy king. In a way this ending brings the two emotions together. The reader feels pity for Creon because of his great loss, but at the same time he feels a bit of fear because he wouldn’t want this type of tragedy to ever occur in his life.