Character Analysis of Antigone
Uploaded by amad_era on May 11, 2017
In a time where women are considered weak and inferior to men, it’s hard to believe there would be a story with a female protagonist who is now considered a “feminist hero.” In a play by Sophocles called Antigone, that is exactly what went down. Antigone, daughter of Oedipus Rex, is portrayed as an independent, loyal, and courageous woman.
With this in mind, we lead into Antigone’s trait of independence. It is showed prominently very early on in the play when she asks her sister Ismene to help her bury her brother Polyneices, as this was an important rite in Greek culture; it was believed the gods wanted a proper burial for the deceased to make sure their souls departed with peace. Ismene declined her sister’s offer arguing that they shouldn’t break the law and go against the ruling of men because as women it was not their place. Antigone promptly responds with “I’ll still bury him. It would be fine to die while doing that. I’ll lie there with him, with a man I love, pure and innocent, for all my crime.” She vows that even without the help or approval of her sister, she will bury Polyneices on her own. She continues showing her independent nature when Ismene pleads further for her not to commit the crime. “So leave me and my foolishness alone - we’ll get through this fearful thing. I won’t suffer anything as bad as a disgraceful death.” In this conversation with her sister, Antigone basically tells Ismene to make tracks and leave her to her duty and fate. Later in the play she has a confrontation with Creon, the king of Thebes. Creon acknowledges that she is the sole citizen in Thebes that rebels against his law by saying “In all of Thebes, you’re the only one who looks at things that way...These views of yours - so different from the rest - don’t they bring you any shame?” She responds to him by recognizing she is the one who speaks out because the people of Thebes are struck by fear. Furthermore, towards the end of the play, when Antigone is sent to die, Ismene tries to take blame for the actions of her sister. Antigone stays strong with her self-reliant spirit when she says “Don’t try to share my death or make claim to action which you did not do. I’ll die -...