Antigone as a heroic and tragic archetype must internally struggle with individuality and morality versus established rule and law and she can be seen as externally fighting between her sister as an outward display of her internal conflict. Antigone then is a unique archetype as a heroine and her power and powerlessness are defining to her as a woman in politics. Her sister, Ismene is portrayed as much weaker and can be said to be metaphorical in that individual morality is weak as compared to established law and Ismene is the personification of morality in a legal-rational world, according to the emerging Hellenistic establishment. Antigone is willing to use her own morals to bury Polyneices, though it is illegal to do so. Ismene is …show more content…
Knowing that blood ties were so important to Antigone then, the act of disowning her sister is worthy of further review in terms of looking at Antigone as the personification of the ancients while Ismene is a personification of the new type of establishment. In the new type of relinquishment to law over personal conviction comes fear, weakness, and powerlessness as is seen in Ismene’s character.
Antigone, on the other hand, as having the virtue of the ancients is the more natural of the two sisters and Antigone’s strength can be interpreted as part of her very nature and being while Ismene is conflicted by being forced to be a part of a world that was unnatural in the fact that the very essence of being was being taken away with the establishment of laws that went against personal conviction. “When asked to make a choice between state and family, Antigone put religion and family first” (Winterer, 2001). The reader can clearly see that there is much dualism in Antigone as a work of art and that state versus family, new versus old, morality versus law are themes in the piece, but they are artistically played out in the relationships that are portrayed in the piece. Specifically since the struggle that Antigone faces as the archetypal heroine is surrounded by the love and duty to her brother, it should not be surprising that Antigone’s relationship to her sister is any less significant or important.
The fact
Ismene once argued with her sister, “If in defiance of the law we cross a monarch 's will?--weak women, think of that, not framed by nature to contend with men” (Sophocles 49-68). Ismene did not realize then that she was speaking with of one of the greatest heroines and monarchs of modern feminism in all of literature. If any woman today dared utter the words above, they would face immediate contention from the herd of strong-willed females belonging to the 21st century. In Antigone, we see Antigone press forward with conviction in pursuit of justice and truth. She is met with great opposition, largely due to her gender. In the past 2500 years, society has evolved in monumental ways.
Ismene, the vigorous girl of the family, does as told and follows the laws. When she finds out that Antigone is disobeying Creon, she becomes perturbed. Ismene says she cannot act against the law and that the consequences of acting against the laws put fears in her. Ismene being righteous interferes with her decision of whether to help her sister or not. Eventually Ismene recants and wants to help Antigone with the illegal burial of their brother Polyneices, unfortunately Antigone rejects. Ismene recanting angers her sister; She feels that Ismene should of chose her in the first place and now the option of helping no longer exists. Without the help of Ismene, Antigone obtains entanglement by the guard for the strenuous entombment of her brother
First, Ismene is empowered to overcome her fear of disobeying Creon’s law as a result of watching Antigone act boldly to do what she thinks is right. At the beginning of the play, Ismene, Antigone’s sister, is obedient and shy. Ismene is fearful of the consequence of burying their brother, Polyneices, but Antigone helps her see what is right. After seeing Antigone willingly accept punishment for burying Polynices, Ismene has a change of heart. She tells her sister, “But now I know what you meant; and I am here To join you, to take my share of the punishment”
Antigone as the daughter of Oedipus, the sister of Ismene, and the powerful strong sister to her dead brothers Eteocles and Polyneices that has committed the crime of wanting to bury her brother. Her flaws have caused her this damage and may be killed by it but she soon realizes that she accepts her mistakes. She says don't worry that she will soon be with her own again soon in a different place which is with the people she cares most about and the one she committed this crime for. Antigone will never be able to forget what she has done but shall learn from her mistakes and be humbled by what she has done and what Creon has said to her. Be wise with your actions and learn from mistakes and not only that to listen to the wise ones and pick the
The honor that Antigone wants to maintain for her family, coupled with the irreplaceable nature of family, outweigh her
Antigone argumentative essay Antigone has the most influential personality in the entire story. Her character, for standing up against the kings incorrect judgment on the law. Which for women was unheard of especially during the time period. She was willing to stand for what was right even when her sister ismene abandoned her in the decision of burying her own brother. Ismene was afraid that for her actions on breaking the law (which was punished by getting stoned) will not end good for either her or her sister.
Ismene's argument at the beginning of the play is that their family has suffered enough, though morally were her tactics the ones that were compelling of being reckless. Family loyalty was obvious the key foundation to this epic , therefore making the main heroine center stage for it , Antigone. Antigone's fierce devotion is once more on full display when she professes that she will bury her brother Polyneices despite kreon's law. Antigone's fate seems to be predestined even from the beginning as Sophocles tells his audience that her brothers have slain each other in a war over their father's throne for that of power and title. Loyalty is a huge component when it comes to Antigone ,family devotion especially is a big element as she comes to terms to sacrifice her own life in the name of it.
Reason and truth are never based on authority. Not even a supreme ruler can decide the right and wrong things to do. Antigone, in “Antigone” is set on honroing her dead brother even if it means going against her uncle Creon, resulting in a classic father or fatherly figure daughter conflict. In Sophocles’ play “Antigone”, the combination of Antigone’s stubborn loyalty and her uncle Creon’s hubris result in the main conflict, while also demonstrating that stubornness and pride lead to destruction.
Throughout Antigone, Antigone is a presented as a strong woman who is both dedicated to her family and her community. That said, there is much conflict between these two dedications. In this paper, I will give examples of Antigone’s different individual responsibilities and her philosophies and explain how those conflict with the commitment that she is to have to her community and indirectly, her king. Ultimately, I will argue that Sophocles demonstrated his values of family, the way of the gods, and doing what is right through Antigone’s response to the conflicts between her values and the commitment she is meant to have towards her community.
Antigone presents a number of universals in the role of a female, family loyalty vs state loyalty, and man’s laws vs gods’ laws. Ismene’s change of heart is undependable because of her previous stance on the decree created by Creon. Ismene’s original stance on Antigone’s plan of action shows her justifiable fear towards Creon and the power of the man. Ismene’s sisterhood with Antigone is clearly caring and loving when the two first interact in private Ismene states her concern for her sister “ What’s the matter?/Trouble, clearly.
This story is marked by tragedy after tragedy; Antigone and Ismene are presented with a father, that dare to killed his father to married his own mother. Two brother that followed the similar example, and consequently killed each other to for throne to have power. We don’t know what age they were when her parents died, but by inference we can argue that they were young. Although, Antigone and Ismene experience some life-hard moments together, their view on certain situation are shaped differently throughout the play. Antigone, see the situation with her brother Polynieces as outrageous offense to her and her family values, especially after being an active member of leadership in the city of Thebes. Antigone, experiences had made her a stronger than other women, she doesn’t fear man, and is
(Sopheles lines 499-509) Even though her life is at stake, Antigone demonstrates her will to stand up for what she believes is right. Her sister, Ismene, is initially unable to do this, exhibiting characteristics in direct contrast to Antigone’s personality. Ismene is a radiantly beautiful, talkative, outgoing, and well-behaved “good” girl. She does not fight for her beliefs, because she is too afraid of the consequences.
Because of Antigone’s despair of the loss of her brother, she becomes a narcissistic women who disregards her king, the authority of her state and her sister.
While Antigone represents a full devotion to humanism, her sister, Ismene, represents not only the rejection of it, but also passivity towards the notion of morality which, in a sense, is equivalent to Creon’s treachery towards what we hold morally sacred. Ismene has long been used as a symbol of both anti-politics and anti-humanism, which creates a dynamic plot by contrasting the cowardly fear to stand up for one’s concept of what is right with a brazen display of self-fulfilled justice. (2) What’s worse may be Ismene’s knowledge of her cowardliness and complete complacency, as seen when talking to Antigone about her plan to bury their slain brother when sharing her fear of punishment, " Think how we’ll die far worse than all the rest, if we defy the law and move against the
In the beginning, the author introduced Antigone and her sister, Ismene, and their argument about their recently deceased brother. The argument involved Antigone wanting to bury her brother and Ismene encouraging her to obey the King's orders. Antigone ignored her sister's advice and chose to