Character is one of the
significant aspects or themes of a drama. The greatness of a writer mainly
depends on the successful presentation of characters. In this respect,
Sophocles is completely successful in describing the character of Antigone.
Antigone is the
daughter of Oedipus, the former king of Thebes. She is the princess of Thebes.
Among the four children of Oedipus, she is the last victimized member of the
family. Her elder sister is Ismene. Her two brothers are Polynices and
Eteocles. Polynices came to attack his own homeland. On the other hand,
Eteocles wanted to save the land. The two brothers killed each other in the
battle field. The king Creon, their uncle, forbids to bury the dead body of
Polynices. Because, according to the king he is a traitor of the country. On
the other hand, Eteocles is buried with the state honour. But Antigone wanted
to bury Polynices. The play Antigone
starts in this point.
The play is named after
Antigone. She is the central figure in the drama and the main theme of the
play. She is neither a political character nor a philosophical character. She
has been described as a common human figure. She is the embodiment of common
loss, pain, sorrow, suffering, feelings and love.
Her presence in the
play has made the drama convincing (believable) to the reader. She is a real
tragic figure. The identity of Antigone tells that she belongs to the royal
family. She is bearing blue blood. We have come to know that she was given
death penalty. But it does not mean that she committed any crime.
Antigone is a character
who is quite conscious of her own responsibilities. In the play we see that she
is guided by her own consideration. According to her a dead body must be buried.
She thinks that this is the law of God and every human being should obey it.
Antigone is determined
to bury the dead body of her brother whereas the king forbids it. She is ready to
disobey the order of the king to obey the laws of Gods. She is not afraid of death
to show her love and responsibility for her brother. So we see that she is lady
of complete love and affection to her brother.
Antigone says;
“….I will bury my brother,
And
if I die for it,what happiness !”
Antigone appears as a
dutiful sister. It’s painful for any sister to see her dead brother to be eaten
up by animals. It’s inhuman indeed and she can’t do it. So, Antigone revolts
against the order of the king. And she promises to bury her brother’s dead
body. For this, she wants the help of her sister, Ismene. Though Antigone has
been taken to imprison in a rocky (stone) cave, she is strict to her religion
and principle.
In
fact, Antigone defies the order of the king for two reasons. The first is her
sisterly feelings and the second is her obedience to the divine law. The
religious value is more important to her than the laws of the state. Creon says
that the patriot and the traitor should not be given equal judgment. Antigone
replies that she is not afraid of Creon’s penalty. Death is her choice rather than
living in daily torments (tortures). According to Antigone, the laws of Gods
are everlasting. She says;
“They are not
yesterday or today but everlasting.”
Like other common
ladies, she also dreams for future, dreams for having a husband and children.
She falls in love with Haemon, son of the king. Haemon also loves her. He has
said that if he dies, does not die alone. Naturally when a woman falls in love,
she does not think of any other things. But Antigone is an exceptional girl in
this respect.
According to Aristotle,
the tragic character is good but not perfect. It also can be told in case of
Antigone. Her sense of divinity is praise-worthy indeed. But there is some
lacks in her character.
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