MID TAKE HOME ESSAY

The play Antigone is a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles. It is a play set in ancient Greece in

Thebes, where characters dwell amidst several ethical, moral affairs and dilemmas. The play has

been impactful among the audience for decades and the debate is still ongoing between the

importance of justice’s own nature and personal conscience.

The play Antigone is based on several characters like Antigone, Ismene, Creon, Haemon etc. The

chorus in the play sets the tone and context of each scene before its beginning. All of the

characters play a vital role in leading to the ultimate conclusion. Antigone and Ismene are the

daughters of Oedipus and they both display the different aspects of women that can be seen in

society. While Creon is the ruler of Thebes and he reflects the common traits of male pride and

ruthless ruling of the state. Antigone’s defiance of Creon’s orders sets the stage for several

conflicts and dilemmas among the characters. This paper gives a detailed analysis of the ethical

complications of gender, morality, divine law and state law in context with the characters.

Antigone is one of the main characters of the play. She is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta.

Antigone portrays a very strong, determined and defiant woman throughout the play. She defies

Creon’s orders not to bury her brother Polyneices, as he was declared to be the enemy of the

state. She chooses divine law over state law. Antigone exhibits breaking the social norms

imposed on women. Later, she faces death as her fate.

Concepts of moral realism, moral relativism and cultural relativism in brief. In terms of

Antigone, it is visible that Antigone’s decision to bury her brother was based on moral realism. It

can also be defined as an act of moral relativism because the decision to bury was her own belief.

Creon’s order of not burying Polyneices was based on cultural relativism as the law enacted

followed tradition and Creon had to maintain the stability of the state.

Antigone has been shown as a woman who is very much loyal to her family. Her determination

to put her moral and ethical views of divine law over the laws bounded by Creon is proved when

she says the mortals cannot defy the sacred and untouchable laws of gods, according to

Sophocles. Even if death remains in her fate her loyalty obliged her to bury her brother even if he

was an enemy of the state.

It is not only concerned with rituals, as she is inclined to be loyal to her family as well as acting

on her moral beliefs. She also rebelled against the unjust rule of law imposed by Creon.

Antigone faced a tragic fate when she successfully defied Creon’s commands and acted firmly

on her moral ethics and beliefs. It was due to her that the other characters such as Ismene,

Haemon (Creon’s son and Antigone’s Fiance), and Eurydice (Creon’s wife) acted against Creon

leading to more turning points in the drama, raising valid questions against Creons injustice and

tyranny.
Antigone is shown as the very opposite of traditional female elites. Rather than being soft-

spoken, fearful of society and men, and afraid of taking her own decisions: she proclaims to be

defiant of men, firm on her own beliefs and challenges all obstacles on her own. A part of her

also acts traditional as she is devoted to her family as well.

Sophocles wanted to vividly express the common traits that women face in society. Thus through

his play, Sophocles paved the way for the upcoming feminists to revolutionise female rights.

Relating to Antigone’s character is timeless. Her defiance of Creon’s law and order would be

more relatable to the ancient audiences but her act of determination and non-compliance in

context to her ethical beliefs and non-traditional female can be connected by the present audience

even more.

Ismene is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta as well and she is the sister of Antigone. She is

portrayed as the exact opposite character of Antigone. While both are loyal to their family but

Ismene is presented as a cautious and traditional figure.

Through this thought, Ismene is expressing the cultural and traditional consequences faced by

women in society and that women have to obey a higher power like men. It is a portrayal of

being dominated by men rather than living on their own terms. She is also demonstrating her fear

of disobeying Creon.
Antigone and Ismene are foils to each other as they vividly contrast their characters. While

Antigone is resilient and flouts, contrastingly Ismene is fearful and cautious towards every step

of Antigone.

Ismene exhibits the stereotypes that women are accounted of whereas Antigone shows herself as

a progressive woman through her aggression and confidence.

The polar opposite characters pave the way for audiences to imagine the situation of women

including the stereotypes, degradation and defiance from society and men. Antigone’s resilience

and Ismene’s cautiousness portray two different plots of feminism. Antigone portrays the

independence and rationality of women whereas Ismene contrasts by wanting to stay under

stereotypical rules and regulations. According to Wollstonecraft (1792), for women to be taken

as more rational creatures women should be regarded at the same level as men. Sophocles uses

these two characters to demonstrate this point vividly.

Creon is the King of Thebes. He is the one who opposes Antigone by enacting the rule to not

bury Polyneices by declaring him an enemy of the state. Creon later commands Antigone to be

buried alive, which rebounds to him after his son and wife's suicide.

Creon’s statement refers to his autonomy in ruling where he is connecting his household’s status

with his subjects. This arises when he prohibits Haemon from mourning for Antigone. Creon was

irrational to command the Theban people for mourning as mourning is one’s emotional

standpoint and no one has the right to control one’s feelings. Thus Creon portrayed the act of

dictatorship.
Concept of deontology and consequentialism in brief. Creon is a deontologist as he did not pay

heed to the circumstances and outcome of his actions when he commanded his rules for

Polyneices and Antigone.

Between the feud of power and the feud of genders, it is a culmination of both when it comes to

Antigone and Creon. While Creon asserts dominance using his authority of being the King, at the

same time he criticises the actions of Antigone just because she is a woman.
 Bibliography

Sophocles. (2013). Antigone (E. Wyckoff, Trans.). In D. Grene, R. Lattimore, M. Griffith & G.

W. Most (Eds.), Sophocles I: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus (3rd ed.).

The University of Chicago Press.

Wollstonecraft, M. (2014). Observations on the state of degradation to which woman is reduced

by various causes. In E. H. Botting (Ed.), A vindication of the rights of woman (pp. 79-

104). Yale University Press.