Antigone

“When you are on the side of the gods against the tyrant, of Man against the State, of purity against corruption—when, in short, your name is Antigone, there is only one part you can play; […] and she will have to play hers through to the end.”

From the very beginning, Jean Anouilh frames the characters as having parts to play in the story. This device is two-fold. On one hand, it aligns with other Greek tragedies because it assumes that each character has a “fate” that will unfold regardless of what the characters do to stop their fate—something that is one of the main themes of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. On the other hand, the Chorus introduces the people on stage as actors who are playing the parts of this ancient tale.

“This leader of men, this brilliant debater and logician, likes to believe that if it were not for his sense of responsibility, he would step right down from the throne and go back to collecting manuscripts. But the fact is, he loves being king. He’s an artist who has always believed that he could govern just as well as any man of action could; and he’s quite sure that no god nor any man can tell him anything about what is best for the common people.”

The Chorus gives the readers insight into Creon’s true character. The Chorus admits that Creon is an excellent debater (which is proven to be true later in the play), but urges the audience not to be fooled by his self-presentation as an unwilling king who is merely following orders. Instead, the Chorus offers a foreshadowing of Creon’s arrogance and lust for power, which will usher in the tragic deaths in the play. 

“What is for Creon merely the climax of a political purge, is for her a hideous offense against God and Man.”

The primary conflict of the play is that Antigone, who has the highest regard for the sanctity of human life, wishes to bury her brother properly, while Creon feels he must uphold his own authority at any cost. From the beginning this is a thematic conflict between the higher moral law of conscience and the civil authority wielded by Creon.

“When you cry like that, I become a little girl again; and I mustn’t be a little girl today.”

Antigone’s exact age is never disclosed, but she is, nevertheless, a young woman taking on an act of disobedience that she knows will result in her death. In declaring she “mustn’t be a little girl today,” Antigone begins the rejection of traditional femininity and passivity that she fears could hold her back from fulfilling her mission.

“How easy it must be never to be unreasonable with all that smooth silken hair so beautifully set around your head.”

There are two striking differences between Antigone and Ismene: their looks (with Ismene being the more traditionally beautiful), and their philosophy on life, with Ismene being the more likely to use pragmatism and self-interest when faced with trouble. Antigone here implies that the two factors are related, and that her own lack of beauty has led her to choose emotion-driven action over pragmatism.

“But Creon won’t let us bury him. And he is stronger than we are. He is the king. He has made himself King.”

Ismene challenges the notion that Creon came to the throne lawfully, instead saying Creon assigned to himself the ruling title. This is one of the parallels between the story and the historical situation of France at the time, which was under the unwanted and unwelcome rule of Nazi Germany. This sets up the speech Ismene has a little later, which graphically details how helpless the people of Thebes are under Creon’s dictatorship, and how unjust the rule is.

“It’s all very well for men to believe in ideas, and die for them. But you are a girl! Antigone, you have everything in the world to make you happy. All you have to do is—reach out for it.”

Ismene, who is objectively the more feminine of the two sisters, does not understand Antigone’s unwillingness to obey the law and live a “happy” life. In this way, she mirrors the character of Creon, who challenges Antigone’s actions with the very same argument. Ismene’s argument is more from a place of upholding societal structures and expectations (knowing the “place” of a girl in Grecian society). Meanwhile Creon, notably, omits gender norms from his argument and instead compares her to her father, Oedipus, in accusing her of wanting to face a tragic fate.

“It’s just that I’m not quite strong enough for what I have to do. But nobody but you must know that.”

Nanny serves as a confidante for Antigone, and it is with her that Antigone can show how scared she really is. In spite of her fear, Antigone proceeds with her plans to bury Polynices, knowing she will get caught. This brings to fruition what the Chorus mentioned at the beginning of the play, when he said that Antigone is an “instrument of the gods in a way she cannot fathom but that she will faithfully pursue” (14).

“But he’s dead; and he never loved us. He was a bad brother. He was like an enemy in this house. He never thought of you: why should you think of him? What if he does like rotting in a field? […] It’s Creon’s doing, not ours.”

Ismene represents the French citizens who did not do anything to resist the Nazi occupation. By redirecting the blame to the dictator alone, the bystanders, like Ismene, felt like they were not at fault for the violence that happened to their fellow men who did resist. Anouilh exposes the common methods of justification for complacency through the diametrically opposed sisters: Antigone’s action against Ismene’s inaction.

“Death, treason, and sorrow, are on the march; and they move in the wake of storm, of tears, of stillness.”

The Chorus tells the audience what they can expect now that Antigone has revealed that she covered Polynices’ body. The quote paints an image of soldiers marching on, which is appropriate for the parallels Anouilh is drawing to World War II.

“Tragedy is restful; and the reason is that hope, that foul, deceitful thing, has no part in it. There isn’t any hope. You’re trapped.”

Anouilh references the literary tropes of Greek Tragedy in this quote. Tragedy, which is driven by inescapable fate, is predictably grim, and removes any idea that things might be changed through human agency. This is ironic, however, because the Chorus (who delivers this line) tries to change fate himself later in the play when he tries to stop Creon from having Antigone killed.

“Chief, she was clawing away like a wild animal.”

People are regularly dehumanized in Antigone, being referred to as animals throughout the play. In this instance, the very human, very sacred act is being described as something rabid and animalistic by the guards, who view Antigone’s burial of Polynices as criminal.

“Nobody has a more sacred obligation to obey the law than those who make the law. You are a daughter of law-makers—a daughter of kings. You must observe the law.”

Creon frequently accuses Antigone of abusing her status in Greece to act above the law. Antigone tells Creon her actions would remain unchanged even if she were not the daughter of a king, because her duty to her brother is on a completely different, and higher, plane than that of the Theban law. Meanwhile, Creon is unable to acknowledge the basic human rights and rituals that are owed to one another regardless of the law or social status. For him, Antigone should obey his authority without question.

“Kings, my girl, have other things to do than to surrender themselves to their private feelings.”

Again, Creon is seen as primarily acting out of pragmatism over feeling, putting him directly at odds with Antigone, who sees little use in thinking things through too much. Creon critiques anything that prevents Man’s law from being upheld, refusing to believe that there are forces at hand (such as human sanctity, or the gods) that transcend the written law.

“I am not going to let politics be the cause of your death. […] For it is a fact that this whole business is nothing but politics: the mournful shade of Polynices, the decomposing corpse, the sentimental weeping and the hysteria that you mistake for heroism, politics—nothing but politics.”

Creon, not believing that Antigone truly believes in the rituals needed for Polynices’ peaceful passing after death, accuses her of politicizing her brother’s death. In doing so, he further dehumanizes Polynices and invalidates Antigone’s emotions and beliefs.

“We could argue whether I ought or ought not to follow my trade; but once I take on the job, I must do it properly.”

Creon repeatedly presents himself as a king who does not want to rule, but one who must “do it properly” in order to maintain authority and stability in the kingdom. He deems the only fit way to rule a kingdom is to enforce his will, even if that means using oppressive and unjust tactics. Although he accuses Antigone of being stubborn and prideful, it is he who refuses to make space for a broader interpretation of the law and the nature of authority.

“There had to be one man who said yes. […] Someone had to agree to captain the ship.”

This is the beginning of Creon’s long speech about captaining a sinking ship, which, in the context of the play represents Thebes, but in the context of history represents France. Creon presents himself as a true leader who stepped up when no one else would. This, however, does not make him a good leader, just as the Vichy government surrendering a war-torn France to the Nazis did not make them good leaders either. 

“Both sides couldn’t have been wrong: that would have been too much. I couldn’t make them swallow the truth.”

Anouilh uses this passage, along with others in Creon’s argument that attempt to portray each side equally, to create a sense of ambiguity in the play, therefore making it past the Nazi censorship at the time it was written. By portraying Creon as a strong debater, the playwright allowed audience members to draw their own conclusions about Anouilh’s opinion of Creon and thus, his opinion of those who occupied France at the time.

“I had the prettier of the two carcasses brought in, and gave it a State funeral; and I left the other to rot. I don’t know which is which. And I assure you, I don’t care.”

Towards the end of his debate with Antigone, Creon begins to show his true colors more. While at first he claimed that Polynices was the brother who was left to rot because he was on the opposing side of Creon, this quote reveals that the ultimate goal was to make a grim example of one of the brothers—it never mattered which one was buried and which one was not. As long as the people of Thebes are frightened into submission, Creon is satisfied.

“Life is, perhaps, after all, nothing more than the happiness that you get out of it.”

The ideas of “happiness” and a “happy life” of submission are mentioned throughout the play, primarily when Creon is addressing Antigone. Both Creon and Ismene attempt to persuade Antigone to forgo her rebellious ways and forget her brother’s burial. Both characters believe that resisting the government to stand up for her beliefs is not worth sacrificing the safe, quiet life she would otherwise have. Creon’s reasoning in this line sums up his self-centered, utilitarian philosophy.

“You must not let Antigone die. We will carry the scar of her death for centuries.”

In this part of the play, Anouilh strays from the typical form of Greek tragedy when the Chorus directly challenges one of the characters. In traditional tragedies, the Chorus is usually a group of observers who relay important information about the play to the audience, without intervening. Here, the Chorus warns Creon not to kill Antigone, and is more actively participating in the narrative.

“That massive god who used to pick me up in his arms and shelter me from shadows and monsters—was that you, Father? Was it of you I stood in awe? Was that man you?”

Not much has been said about the relationship between Haemon and Creon up until this point, except that Creon feels that a male heir to the throne, produced by Haemon and Antigone, is crucial to serve his own interests. Here, more of their relationship is revealed, as Haemon clearly idolized his father as a child. Now that Creon has sentenced Antigone to death, Haemon is ashamed of the man he thought he knew. This scene is an important turning-point in Creon’s crumbling authority at the end of the play.

“The task is there to be done. They say it’s dirty work. But if I didn’t do it, who would?”

Part of what makes Creon a compelling debater is his acknowledgement that the work he does is not always morally “righteous”, but that in his mind, it is nevertheless “right” simply through sheer necessity and self-interest. He frequently makes comments like this, assuming he is the only one fit to lead Thebes and willing to uphold order and stability.