Waad M. A.

Alhayek

U18105418

Prof. Andrew Power

(Drama Midterm Essay)

Love and Marriage in Antigone

Love can play a significant role in one's life, and it can sometimes penetrate the mind so

deeply that one is willing to sacrifice oneself for their loved ones. In Sophocles’

Antigone, there are multiple instances of love and marriage and each character in the play

interpret it differently. Antigone, the protagonist, portrays love in the form of familial

love. Ismene's love for her sister Antigone takes on another form. As does Haemon’s love

for Antigone and his father. Also, Eurydice's love for her son. Lastly, Kreon's love for

power, authority, and his family. This essay will focus on the bond of marriage and the

different forms of love within the characters of the play and how each character portrays

it.

Love and marriage are somehow interrelated because one is the outcome of the other.

Antigone’s tragedy is the result of Oedipus and Jocasta's incestuous marriage, “do you

know one evil left to us by Oidipous, our father.” (2-4) which plays a significant role in

the development of Antigone’s character and how the play takes turns. One way of

illustrating love is through familial love, as shown at the beginning of the play, when

Antigone addresses her sister Ismene as her m beloved sister and reminds her of their

bond, and how they’re close even in their sorrows, “Ismene, my own true sister, O dear

one, sharing our common bond of birth.” (1-2) conveys her great love for her sister.
Antigone associates honour and nobleness with love and devotion to her family. She

considers not acting and not burying her brother to be cowardice. “There you have how

things stand, and soon you will show whether you are noble, or despite high birth-are low

and cowardly.” (47-49).

Antigone's deep love and passion bind the pieces of her life together. She loves her

brother Polynices and refuses to obey the law, believing that despite his actions, he

deserves to be buried properly. “But I will bury him. For me it’s noble to do this thing

then die. With loving ties to him, I’ll lie with him who is tied by love to me, I will

commit a holy crime,” (86-90). At this point in the play, Antigone realizes that such a

deed will forever seal her fate in Creon's eyes. She would rather give up her own life in

honour of her deceased brother. Ultimately, her actions and the consequences that arise

are determined by love. The tragic heroine Antigone openly accepts death and denies

nothing, as she is driven by her heart instead of her mind.