Blood Bonds, Antigone, and The Eumenides
Every human on this earth has a bond to another. These bonds, as well as their significance, differ between people. This paper will focus on the bonds of marriage and blood, and their role in the plays Antigone and The Eumenides. How do they relate to each other? Is one more important than the other? How does the divine and mortal world interpret these? Through a review of the two plays and a comparison of their presentation of the bonds of blood and marriage, this paper will answer these questions.
Upon initial examination, the bond of blood seems to be the prevailing one in Antigone, but upon closer examination, it is obvious that the bond of marriage plays a strong role as well.
Sophocles introduces these bonds through Antigone's troubled ancestry; she was born of an alliance between her brother and her mother. (This alliance also produced Ismene, Polyneices, and Eteocles.) This disobedience of natural laws clearly shows the disrespect that this family has for bonds of marriage and of blood. This disobedience may be innate, as some argue that Oedipus knew nothing of his wife's relation to him when he killed the king, his father. (Coles Notes, 20-21)
In any case, this disrespect has been passed onto Antigone. She sees marriage as a kind of death. (Sophocles, 504-508) She also states that she would not have buried her husband against the city's orders, as she did for her brother. (Sophocles, 960-964) Her logic is that although she may have another husband or child, she will never have another brother, since her parents are dead. (Sophocles, 966-969) This leads to the conclusion that the death of her parents has strengthened the blood bond. (In other words, the destruction of...
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...) see the bond of blood as superior to that of marriage. This causes conflicts between the gods. In the beginning of the play, this conflict is between Apollo, who believes Orestes should not be punished, and the Furies, who believe he should be punished for matricide. When judgement on Orestes is passed ("Athene: The man before us has escaped the charge of blood." line 752), the wrath of the Furies moves from Apollo to Athene. This conflict lasts from line 778 to the end of the play.
It is obvious after close examination between these two texts that the bonds between marriage and blood are often complicated. They are often intertwined (as seen by Antigone's ancestry) and their importance differs between cultures and societal positions, as seen in The Eumenides. Antigone and The Eumenides are important Greek societal statements on the bonds of blood and marriage.
Antigone’s two contradictory roles, as a sister to Polynices and as a female of Thebes, gives rise to her problem. It can be argued that it is not Antigone that enforced this impact. Antigone not unfairly declares that ruler has no right to keep her distant from her own brother and she was simply satisfying her ordinary responsibility by providing Polynices some resemblance of
Antigone is a powerful character, strong-willed, determined and at times self-righteous. She is contrasted by her sister Ismene, who is weak and powerless. Though Antigone is a powerful character, she has no real political power and is dominated by one man, Creon. Creon is both the ruler of the state as well as the patriarch of her family. Antigone was raised by Creon’s house after her own father went in to exile. Antigone is betrothed to Creon’s son, Haemon, further cementing Creon’s power over her. There is one aspect of life that Antigone does have legitimate power in and that is her family, especially her blood line. In ancient-Greek culture the women’s place was in the home, she was responsible for household things and often wasn’t even allowed to leave the house. It is because of this responsibility that Antigone needed to bury her brother Polynices even though it went against the decree of Creon. Antigone also had the gods on her side. It was an unwritten rule of ancient Greek society that the dead must be buried, otherwise bad things may happen. This rule, because it was unwritten and therefore innate, was protected by the gods, specifically Hades, the god of the underworld and family.
In the awe-inspiring play of Antigone, Sophocles introduces two remarkable characters, Antigone and Creon. A conflict between these two obstinate characters leads to fatal consequences for themselves and their kindred. The firm stances of Creon and Antigone stem from two great imperatives: his loyalty to the state and her dedication to her family, her religion but most of all her conscience. The identity of the tragic hero of this play is still heavily debated. This tragedy could have been prevented if it had not been for Creon's pitiful mistakes.
Antigone committed a holy crime meaning that even though she went against her state laws, she respected her moral laws and gave her brother the burial he deserved. Antigone took pride in her actions of a generous act and died without shame. Strong relationships whether it’s family, friend, boyfriend or girlfriend all make sacrifices at some point in their lives to better others. If a woman or man dies of a generous act they will never be shameful, but
Antigone is loyal to her family readers can see that when she says “ Their it is, and now you can prove what you are: A true sister , or a traitor to your family” ( PR. 26-27). This quote shows that Antigone is loyal to her family because she wants her sister to be a true sister like her because she is going the break the law for her brother. Antigone is also seen as loyal to the gods when she says “ That final justice, that rules the world below makes no such laws” ( 2. 57-58). Antigone is seen as loyal because she says the final justice of her being killed doesn’t matter because she did something good for the gods, so they will be loyal back to her. In the greek tragedy Antigone, Antigone has the tragic flaw of loyalty to her family and to the gods, which leads to her
Antigone, as a character, is extremely strong-willed and loyal to her faith. Creon is similarly loyal, but rather to his homeland, the city of Thebes, instead of the gods. Both characters are dedicated to a fault, a certain stubbornness that effectively blinds them from the repercussions of their actions. Preceding the story, Antigone has been left to deal with the burden of her parents’ and both her brothers’ deaths. Merely a young child, intense grief is to be expected; however, Antigone’s emotional state is portrayed as frivolous when it leads her to directly disobey Creon’s orders. She buries her brother Polynices because of her obedience to family and to the gods, claiming to follow “the gods’ unfailing, unwritten laws” (Sophocles 456-457). CONTINUE
Sophocles’ play Oedipus and Antigone have many parallel themes and conflicts. Certain characters and events are mirrored and go through similar sequences in both plays. One conflict that is prevalent in both plays is the idea of loyalty. In Oedipus, many are loyal to Oedipus, including the city of Thebes itself. In Antigone, there is much strife in the relationships as well, and the idea of loyalty arises.
The play “Antigone” is a tragedy by Sophocles. One main theme of the play is Religion vs. the state. This theme is seen throughout the play. Antigone is the supporter of religion and following the laws of the gods and the king of Thebes, Creon, is the state. In the play Creon has made it against the law to bury Antigone’s brother, something that goes against the laws of the gods, this is the cause of most conflict in the story. This struggle helps to develop the tragic form by giving the reader parts of the form through different characters.
In Sophocles’ Antigone, Antigone saw her action of burying her brother as a just one. It may not have been just in the eyes of Creon and the people of Thebes, but she was not concerned with the laws that mortals had made. Antigone saw the divine laws of the gods to be much more important than those of mortals. She felt that if she died while upholding the laws of the gods, that her afterlife would be better than if she had not. Our lives on this earth are so short, that to see a good afterlife over the horizon will make people go against the laws of humans.
There exist more similarities between Frankenstein and Antigone than just fate and free will. Antigone and the Monster both value the importance of family and how people influence an individual’s actions and character formation. Antigone’s sole motive revolves around honoring her brother, no matter the consequences. Antigone believes that she must fulfill the duty to honor her brother, and cannot understand why Creon follows a law against honoring his own family. Creon and Antigone become adversaries to one another as they have different ideas on how to handle the death of Polyneices. In Sophocles and the Language of Tragedy, author Simon Goldhill states, “The central question which joins and separates Creon and Antigone is whether the shared blood of the family outweighs the hostile intent of a brother towards the political community” (31). Antigone reacts to how Cre...
The Tragic Play Antigone by Sophocles has a Conflict between religious morals and loyalty to the state and its laws. This struggle is displayed through the characters Antigone and Creon. Antigone’s life meets a tragic end in the play, but her death makes her a martyr leading to the citizens to follow her view of religion.
In Antigone, unmoderated love is prevalent throughout the play, and it is best demonstrated in three main characters: Antigone, Creon, and Ismene. Antigone has a very strong love for her brother and the gods, Creon has an extreme love for power, and Ismene has a deep love for her sister, Antigone. Each of these characters suffers greatly because of this love, and as a result, they all suffer dire consequences.
In the play Antigone, by Sophocles, it is greatly apparent just within the first few exchanges between Ismene and Antigone that there are various social issues surrounding the women in ancient Greece. The play raises many gender and socially related issues especially when looking at the contextual background of the playwright and the representation of the women within the play. When the characters of the first scene begin their analog, it is important to note what they are actually saying about each other and what their knowledge of their own social status is. The audience is first introduced to Antigone who we later learn is the antagonist of the play as she rebels against the protagonist, Creon. Her sister, Ismene, is the second character the audience is introduced to, hears of Antigone's plan to bury their brother's body in the first scene. Ismene’s actions and words give the reader the hint that her sister’s behavior is not usual, "so fiery" and "so desperate" are the words used to describe Antigone's frame of mind. At this very early point in the play the reader discovers that Antigone is determined to carry out her mission to bury her beloved brother. However, she is in no position that gives her the rights as a woman, sister, or even future queen to make her own decisions and rebel. Instead, her decision to bury her brother demonstrates her loyalty to her family, the gods, and to all women. Her motivation for those decisions will end up driving her far more than that of what the laws set by Creon have implemented. She shows no fear over disobeying the king and later says about the punishment of death "I will lie with the one I love and loved by him"(Sophocles, 2). Throughout the play the reader can see the viewpoint of an obedient woman, a rebellious woman, and the social norms required for both of them.
The character of Antigone in Sophocles’ play, Antigone, is one of the most controversial tragic characters in classic literature. The war in her city has torn her family apart, caused the death of both her brothers, and created a reason for her to fight against the King, her uncle. Her uncle, Creon, makes a ruling that her brother, Polynices, is not to be buried because he is a traitor, but according to her religion, her brother’s soul will not go to the afterlife until he is buried. In defense of her brother, she buries his body illegally and is subsequently sentenced to death. With her complex patterns of thought, bold actions, and the end she encounters, the character of Antigone causes debate among critics as to whether or not Antigone is in fact a tragic heroine. She can be perceived as a martyred hero, dying for love and religion, or as a fanatic woman who lacks the ability to think rationally. The way in which Antigone’s role is interpreted can further help to interpret Sophocles’ view of women and politics. In taking the view that she is a hero who died for her beliefs, it shows that Sophocles was aiming to prove that women deserve to be treated as equals and as citizens of Greece.
Antigone respects her blood relations, and she is driven by this to oppose the laws created by Kreon. Even though she recognizes the sin in which Oidipous bequeaths upon his kin, she refuses to abandon her brother is determined to "not be caught betraying him" (Sophocles, 58). Kreon's man made laws cannot "keep [her] from [her] own," and in this she accepts the blood line of her doomed oikos. Furthermore, Antigone justifies herself by honoring her brother above other relationships that she is capable of producing. Antigone states that she "would never have assumed this burden...if it had been [her] children or [her] husband who had died...no more brothers could ever be born- This was the law by which [she] honored [Polyneikes] above all others" (966-77). Using this reasoning, the death of Antigone’s brother means extinction of the blood line and proper burial is still needed, even if it the traitor was Eteokles. Antigone's breach of nomos is a necessary one, for the dead cannot be revived and must be honored, especially those that en...