I chose the scene between Antigone and Creon from pages 20-24 because the theme of power and women’s rights is introduced and it is very important in today’s society. Women still need to prove themselves to men even today. Antigone stands up for herself and her family against Creon, she is a protagonist who challenges his views. Which in turn seems to unravel Creons control. The other major theme is the Divine law verses Creon’s law which is the Capital law and to Antigone, she respects the Gods law than Creons which suggests how powerful the Gods are.
This idea that Antigone is a protagonist is shown in Sophocles(442 B.C) Antigone which is backed by Verkerk(2014) where he appears to disagree with Aristotle’s view that women “should be good… maintain Sophrosun (self-control, chastity).” Within the scene with Creon and Antigone she had no self-control as suggested by Butler that she “demanded in the name of her brother (for a love that is incestuous) is an assumed masculine language of the state reveals the potential malleability of gender roles, family relationships, and the law of the state.”. This explains why Antigone would go against Creons law in the name of the Divine Gods law, her sister believed Polyneices should be buried but did not wish to break the law, whereas Antigone’s love for Polyneices drove her to the extreme. The loyalty of Antigone to God’s law is the same as the loyalty she shows to her immediate family. It is also frightening how she is willing to die for what she believes in instead of saving herself in which in today’s society some might have chosen to save themselves even if that means dishonoring someone you love. This also goes against the loyalty you have for a family member which is considered as essential and a code of family honor.
Even though Antigone is the main character she only has 42 lines in the pages 20-24 compared to Creons 54 lines, this shows how Creon is in control of the situation even when Antigone is standing up to him even whilst she is his prisoner (Sophocles, 2004:p23 “They know it too. They’re just afraid to say it.” And p24 Creon “No woman will dictate the law to me”). This line Creon says is very simple and slightly misogynistic as he said “No woman will dictate..” this shows that a man could challenge him but not a woman, however, the idea of Creon showing his authority by using a simple sentence shows his dominance. Antigone does the same except her’s has more power as she uses a big fear of any ruler that their citizens fear them and may not believe in them as a ruler and their ideas. The language both characters use is the same which shows how they are related which is backed up when Creon says (Sophocles,2004:p22 “She gets it from her father… The pair of them, my own sister’s daughters..”) which empowers her to say what she thinks. Whereas Creon believes Antigone burring her brother she has betrayed him- her own family which is why his hand is forced to execute her as if he lets her live others might follow her to stand against his law and chose the Gods law. This affects the audience as for them there is a sense of catharsis as Creon is stern but all Antigone wanted to do was bury her brother which is honorable but also how she is so willing to lay down her life as she knows in her heart and she can join her brother which is what she wants.
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Greek theatre had many genres such as tragedy, comedy, and tragicomedy are the main three types. Each has there own unique features however, comedy and tragicomedy both do not include catharsis. A tragic hero must be present in a tragedy and in Antigone, it is a woman which is unusual though there were Greek Gods who were women so they may have been honoring them when we rioting the character. However, it could serve a warning to the women to not stand up against the men as it will only end badly for them.
Gender and Politics is the main aspect in this play which is also relevant in today’s society as back in Ancient Greece (Ley.G, 2006:p49 “… adult citizen males held a dominant place in political, legal, military and domestic affairs. Women were excluded from most aspects of public life…”) this juxtaposes (Sophocles 2004) version of Antigone as she is standing up politically against a man which goes against the time it was written as women had no place in society. Whereas today we have a female Queen and even had a female Prime Minister. This could actually help with updating the play and making it more modern as women are more empowered today, than back in the times of Ancient Greece. This could be staged as a conflict from political forces that is relevant to Brexit as it could end up becoming a civil war with the country divided by leave or stay. Or even based around leaving the EU could be Creon and Antigone the United Kingdom and it being the debate about a deal. (Goldhill S, 2007, chapter 4 p135 “It is a play which inevitably brings these political questions of citizenship and power to the fore,…”). This is why it’s relatable to an audience as we still have politics we just do it differently to them instead of all the citizens well men talking we have mp’s who speak on behalf of the public except some are women, unlike their times. This would link to the theme definitive theme of individual versus state as the United Kingdom is trying to stand up against and become individual to Europe.
Overall, Antigone though a Greek tragedy is still relatable even today though written in ancient Greece. Where women are very low on the social class scale, it is very accessible for any audience as it shows the female lead to be headstrong and fighting for a cause she believes is morally right. This scene is particularly effective in showing that Creon is in charge however, he can not control how people think or feel even his open family members. This could show that he is not the best leader if he can not keep his own family in check with his laws then why should others. When acting this scene I envisioned the use of height being a metaphor for Creon being in charge and the highest authority whereas Antigone sees the Gods as the highest authority. This could be done by Creon standing on a table or chair and Antigone on the floor or sitting down and Creon standing which shows he has overall power. However, when she said the line (Sophocles, 2004:p23 “They know it too. They’re just afraid to say it.”) this is where she would stand on her chair showing Creon that she is the same level as him as she is royal to some extent. This play could divide the audience depending on their views to Antigone and Creon as there are many ways a character can be interpreted where Creon does not have a chose she forced his hand as he is in charge he has to show he is strong and not weak or he could be overthrown. Whereas Antigone could be seen as silly as she should respect the law like her sister does and therefore they may not have sympathy for her.
Bibliography/ reference:
Goldhill,S.(2007) Chapter Four Tragedy and Politics: What’s Hecuba to Him? London, University Press Chicago.
Leach,R. (2008) Theatre Studies The Basics. London and New York: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group.
Ley,G.(2006) A Short Introduction to the Ancient Greek Theatre. Rev.ed. London, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Verkerk, W.(2014) ‘Heroism in Sophocles’s Antigone’, Philosophy and Literature, 38(1), pp 282-291.
Sophocles (2004) Antigone-The Burial at Thebes. Translated by Seamus Heaney. London, Faber and Faber.
