In the story of Antigone, Oedipus has already died, his two sons. Polyneices and Eteocles, left to contend for the throne of Thebes. In their contention for the throne, the two brothers slay one another, leaving Creon once again to be the acting regent of Thebes. With this power, Creon declares that Polyneices must be left to rot on the battlefield, the highest disgrace to any Greek. Antigone, daughter of Oedipus, is left torn between state of family, and in the end, chooses family over state. Disregarding Creon’s edict with grave danger to herself, Antigone ventures to bury the body of Polyneices, and thus begins her adventure. Antigone is truly a tragic hero, marked by her station as son of Oedipus, and her proud and perhaps arrogant characteristics which will lead to her eventual, inevitable, tragic ending. At the start of her tale, Antigone is the daughter of royalty, but more then that, a daughter of a horrible tragedy: through an unwitting horror story, her father, Oedipus, was also her brother, as Oedipus was married to his mother before she killed herself upon discovering the truth. Before his death, Oedipus had blinded himself, adding to the tragedy. However, Antigone’s own tragedy was still unfolding. Through her proud and unrelenting character, Antigone is determined to give her brother a rightful burial, despite Creon’s edict.
At first Antigone seeks the help of her sister, Ismene, but when she realizes the fear and submissive attitude Ismene possesses, Antigone disregards it as even an option, another example of perhaps Antigone’s tragic flaw, her own arrogance. As the tale continues, Antigone does indeed bury her brother, but is caught by Creon. In doing so however, she wins the …
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…lm manner are not maintained, and we will indeed be wiser from knowing her story.
The story of Antigone was a classic Greek tragedy: a continuation of the immense tragedy that had already befallen the house of Oedipus. Moreover, Antigone herself was a definite tragic hero, fitting every requirement and marked by every characteristic of a tragic hero. Despite her failings and downfall, justice of the human spirit shines through in the end, marking the story as a true tragedy: Creon is defeated by his own actions, and Antigone’s own tragic death marks the beginning of that defeat. Quoting directly from the notes on classical tragedy, “Tragedy has a satisfying, redemptive ending because the events in tragedy are arranged so well that we would not have the play end any other way; we accept the conclusion.” Antigone does indeed satisfy that requirement as a tragic play.
The Missing Dialogue in Sophocles’ Antigone
After reading Antigone, one might feel that there is lacking a dialogue between Antigone and Haimon before their deaths. Sophocles does not include any direct communication between the two lovers during this drama. The reader might assume that such a conversation could have taken place but was not included by Sophocles; however, it is my belief that if a conversation occurred between Antigone and Haimon prior to their deaths, Sophocles would have made it a part of his drama. Since Antigone is a work of fiction, we cannot assume anything which we are not told. We must take the situation to be exactly as Sophocles portrays it to us. This leaves the reader to determine the importance of Antigone and Haimon not speaking together alone before their deaths. When we look at the nature of the drama, we see that the point Sophocles is trying to make is a political one. The absence of Antigone and Haimon speaking alone together adds to this political atmosphere and does not inject the play with a question of romantic love and/or loyalty. Family bonds and loyalty are the crucial issues instead.
The central question of this play is a political one. What should have more power within a society, the divine laws of the gods or the laws of the land and the mortal rulers? Antigone is a representation of the divine laws of the gods, and she remains steadfast to her beliefs that the wishes of the gods should overpower the wishes of the king. Creon, on the other hand, is the representation of the laws of the land and the mortal ruler of society. He, too, remains steadfast (until the end of th…
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…imon in a position to forego the loyalty he holds towards his father. Also, had there been more of a romantic undertone to the actions of Haimon, it would have taken away from the political issues that Sophocles is presenting. The question is not one of love and whether or not the decisions Antigone and Haimon make are in accordance with their love for one another, it is one of whose laws should overpower the others; those of the mortal rulers or those of the gods. By not including a dialogue between Antigone and Haimon, Sophocles is able to present his political issues in a clear manner.
Works Cited
Sophocles. The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone. trans. Fitts, Dudley and Fitzgerald, Robert. Harcourt Brace and Company: New York, 1949.