Antigone Family or Ismene Fear?
I found the conversation between Antigone and Ismene interesting. The writer does not make it clear cut as to which sister is older or younger. Antigone wants to give her brother, Polyneices burial. Her reasoning behind this is because he is family. Also she is not quite sure it is the right thing to do. Antigone states, “Further: he has the matter so at heart that anyone who dares attempt the act will die by public stoning on the town. So there you have it and you soon will show if you are noble, or worthless, despite your high birth” (line 35-39). Her Antigone is explaining that she would die by order of Creon for going against the law and burying her brother. She is also mentioning the noble and worthless part since birth. Perhaps she is justifying her reasoning with the fact that they had not choice in the matter of who their family is. Do you think Antigone is correct for trying to bury her brother properly despite it going against the law? Or do you think she should be more concerned with fear and obeying the law as Ismene proposes?
I personally found it interesting that Antigone had gone to the lengths that she had, I commend her for respecting her family and it is noble of her to make it her priority to bury her dead brother; however to the extent of costing her life? Ismene I , believe represents the rationale aspect of us all, we all see that Ismene does not want to risk burying her dead brother, but at the same time she does not speak badly of him or have any spite; her intentions did not seem selfish, but rather honest. Is she to blame , when fear is the driving force behind her actions; and is Antigone brave; or her judgment cloud and to far gone for rationale?
ReplyDeleteThis is actually quite an insightful observation. When Antigone mentions "high birth," she is also indirectly bringing up the quite ignoble and scandalous past they have both inherited. That she seems here to make it into a positive against which Ismene's fear is contrasted is odd to me. Perhaps she is willfully ignoring the context of her own descent. I'm not sure.
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