Responses: Antigone

Texts in the literary world have consistently used animal imagery as a way to convey, for

descriptive purposes, the existence of man’s carnal instincts, challenge the notion of human

superiority in the animal kingdom, and convey the inhuman tendencies of society as a whole.

Such imagery is present in both Sophocles’ and Jean Anouilh’s versions of the play Antigone, in

which characters’ identities as humans are compromisedand degraded. In both texts, animal

imagery exists in different plot points throughout the play, but is intended for the same purpose;

to dehumanize characters, for it is easier to subdue an individual or societywhen they are made to

appear devoid of human characteristics or virtues. These allusions to animal-like characteristics

are made towards the character of Antigone, Polynices, and the Theban social structure.

Jean Anouilh’s modernized version of the play depicts animal imagery through the

same characters, and intends to dehumanize them in a similar manner, but within different plot

points. Antigone’s dehumanization is prominent when the guards confront Creon about their

discovery of Polynices’ buried body. Creon is in a state of denial, and reacts by asking: “You are

sure that it couldn’t have been a dog, scratching up the earth?” (Anouilh, 32). The dramatic irony
lies in the fact that Antigone’s guilt has already been made clear; Creon is not yet aware of this

fact, and unknowingly compares her to an animal, enforcing his tendency to make Antigone

seem less human as a way of overcompensating for his guilt. Creon further contributes to

Antigone’s dehumanization when his response to her willingness to die is: “You look like a

trapped animal” (Anouilh, 46). Creon declares Antigone inhuman as a way to lessen his

confusion and reassure himself that she is but an ordinary perpetrator and deserves to be put to

death. Polynices’ connection to animal imagery in Anouilh’s version is demonstrated when

Creon reacts to his burial by saying: “We shall have to clean up this mess” (Anouilh, 33). Earlier

in the plot, the nurse reprimands Antigone’s dog Puff when she similarly states, “You want me to

let her make a mess all over the place and not say anything?” (Anouilh, 24). Anouilh connects

Polynices to a dog to emphasize his role of obedient pet to both Antigone and Creon; a mere

catalyst in their conflicting views, as well as a tool each character uses to further their clause.

When Creon speaks of Polynices, he angrily calls him “a little beast” (Anouilh, 53). Creon

demeans Polynices’ human status in order to manipulate Antigone into viewing him through a

more unfavorable lens, thus lessening her sympathy towards him as well as the likelihood of her

going through with his burial. The Theban social order is compromised when Creon refers to his
people as “The beast as nameless as the wave that crashes down upon your deck” (Anouilh, 51).

It is clear that Creon views his kingdom as one, nameless entity; he identifies only with the laws

he must enforce in order to maintain stability, and as a result, dehumanizes his people so that no

emotional attachment or bias interferes with his maintenance of social stability. The degradation

of Theban society is also touched upon when Antigone says to Creon: “What a king you would

be if only men were animals!” (Anouilh, 51). Antigone understands Creon’s philosophy as a

leader; an emphasis on structured laws taking precedence over individual human needs that may

stray from a common purpose. Creon strives to be a leader of animals because they are not

swayed by the external desires and opinions which come with cognitive thought; he dehumanizes

his people in an attempt to maintain stability. To conclude, Jean Anouilh's modernized version of

Antigone makes significant references to animal imagery through the same characters as the

original version, but within differing points in the plot.