Antigone: The Id, Ego, And Superego

Antigone: The Id, Ego, and Superego

Sophocles character, Antigone, portrays the three Freudian concepts of id, ego, and superego throughout the book. Though the three battling aspects usually tend to create inconsistency, Sophocles weaves them together to create a balance in Antigone. The id Antigone portrays is when she fears death. Her ego is her convincing to her father, Oedipus, into speaking with Polyneices, her brother. The superego Antigone embodies is the act of burying her brother, Polyneices. Regarding Antigone, all three of the Freudian concepts, center around the event which consists of the death of Antigone’s brother, Polyneices.

The project is in a trifold style and portrays one body with the three heads: Id, Ego, and Superego. Representing Antigone’s mind split into the

three respective Freudian concepts is the body, along with the heads. On a side note, having more than one of something can seem to create an inconsistency and some confusion. However, three of anything is a good balance. For an example, a triumvirate consists of three leaders, and a triangle has three sides; each of these are balanced in their own way. Therefore, on their own ways, the three aspects create a balance inside Antigone. Antigone’s actions work off of each other and create harmony. Moving forward, the id head is red due to red being an intense and vibrant color. Ego is blue because blue represents calmness and neutrality. Superego is white because white represents perfection and idealistic vibes, and admirable morals. Under each head, one can find a collage of pictures that associate with the Freudian quality it is under. Additionally, the quotes relating to each of the three aspects are in synchronization with the color of the head they correspond to.
The id is an action that occurs due to primal instinct.

Therefore, Antigone lamenting over death is her id. Fear of death is quite natural, and it is normal to be afraid and cry over it. In the play, Antigone, Antigone is charged with death for the sole reason of giving her brother a proper burial, which is against Theban law. If she hadn’t buried him, she would not be facing death so young. The pictures under Id depict Antigone crying and looking mournful. Also depicted is the picture of Niobe, the daughter of Tantalus. She cried due to the death of her children, and was turned to a stone. Based on instinct, one cries because of death, and both characters from Greek mythology, Niobe and Antigone, show this.

Antigone’s ego is reasoning with her father to talk to Polyneices, as he is his own son. In this scene, however, Oedipus curses Polyneices to die by the hands of his own brother. Had he not come, or had she not convinced her father to talk, she would not have had to bury her brother. Meaning, she would not have died. Furthermore, the pictures under Ego display an encounter between the three characters. Also, it is depicted that the ego is the aspect that relates to

reality.
Antigone’s superego her act of burying her brother. Although most would argue that this is an id action, it is superego that drives this action. Antigone does not bury Polyneices for pleasure or for her own comfort; she buries him to please the gods, and to do what is right. The pictures under Superego represent her burying her brother. On picture also shows the Superego to be the moral element out the three.
Antigone can be considered a symbol of struggle. Throughout the trilogy, she suffers. She loses her mother, and her father goes blind. He also dies later. In addition, her two brothers die. Being the loyal sister she is, she takes it upon herself to give her brother a proper burial he deserves, being royalty. Even though it is against Theban law to bury him, she goes out of her way for justice to prevail. In the process, she is caught, and sentenced to death. The id, ego, and superego cooperate to bring forth Antigone’s courage. This courage she has is symbolized in the super ‘s’ in Superego. The largest letters in the three heads, I, E, and S, are an acronym for ideals eclipse self interests. Creon acted for his self interest and did follow up with divine law, and he was punished for it. Antigone followed morality and buried her brother