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SophoclesAntigone
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Scene 3 and 3rd Ode
Scene 3 and 3rd Ode Summary
The guard returns from where he exited, now with Antigone. Clearly relieved that he found someone to prove the crime was not his, he announces that she was caught in the act of burying her brother. Questioned, the guard recounts Antigone’s capture in more detail.
When Polyneikes’ buried body was discovered, the guards uncovered it and retired to a hill to guard it from afar. A whirlwind began. When it ended Antigone was there, cursing those who had uncovered the corpse and reburying it. When they questioned her, Antigone admitted to the crime.
Antigone admits to the crime again to Kreon. When asked why she would defy the law, she bravely argues that divine law is more important than Kreon’s, and “It was not Zeus who made that proclamation / To me; nor was it Justice […] Nor did I think your proclamation so strong / that you, a mortal, could overrule the laws / Of the gods, that are unwritten and unfailing” (498-504). Because she has done what is right by the gods, she accepts the fate of her punishment by death as “in no way painful” (517), especially since the mortal world is full of so many evils against the rightful laws.
Kreon sees Antigone’s act as an outrage, both in defying his laws and in reveling in this insolence in front of him. He sends for Ismene. Recalling that he saw her wailing, he assumes she conspired with Antigone and vows both sisters will be executed. Antigone is unfearful, and she and Kreon argue over the justice of her act. Kreon highlights that Polyneikes forfeited citizenship of Thebes by attacking it, thereby justifying his lack of burial. Antigone argues that she is obligated to honor her fallen sibling, whom she loves. Neither one budges from their position.
Ismene arrives. When questioned, she admits to helping Antigone, though in fact she didn’t. Antigone rejects this statement and further shames Ismene for sharing in the blame without aiding in the burial. Ismene asks if Kreon will really kill Antigone, the future wife of his own son. He admits he will and has the guards take both Ismene and Antigone inside to await execution.
The Chorus sings an ode describing the many troubles of the house of Oedipus, father of Antigone and Ismene, comparing it to a storm-battered ship in an extended metaphor. The Chorus remarks that no matter how great a man’s life may be, none may avoid ruin if it is coming to them, as it was prophesied for the family of Oedipus. Haimon, Kreon’s son and Antigone’s future husband, enters at the end of the ode.
Scene 3 and 3rd Ode Analysis
This scene is a conflict of three wills, the will of Kreon as the ruler of Thebes, the will of Antigone against him, and the will of the gods, to which Antigone acts in deference. Kreon and Antigone are shown as equally stubborn characters. Though Kreon holds the power over Antigone in this scene, Antigone is in the right, as she obeys the laws of the gods above those of men.
Though the gods never appear in this play, the whirlwind that occurs after the guards uncover Polyneikes’ body is a portent of their dissatisfaction with the actions of the guards, signaling that Antigone is right in her actions. Just as Kreon ignored the opinion of the Chorus in the scene prior, he also ignores this portent, indicating his blindness to all laws except his own.
Though just, Antigone is shown as impetuous. Kreon makes note of this when he says she has committed two outrages, first the burial, and second that she “gloried in what she did” (535), disrespecting Kreon to his face. Further, Antigone insults her own sister for taking blame for the burial. This impetuousness from a teenage girl is an example of psychological realism, notable for such an early text. However, her anger at Ismene may be a ruse to convince her to try to save herself.
This scene of argument between Kreon and Antigone is the agon (contest) of the play, an important component of classical Greek theater. Often the agon takes form as a struggle between athletes or heroes, though here it is between the two equal wills of Antigone and Kreon. This conflict is the core problem of the play.
Later, Kreon will regret his actions against Antigone. On the surface, it seems that Kreon, a merciless ruler, answers Antigone’s insolence with rage. However, subtle indications in his text, such as his statement that “grand ideas / Are not allowed in someone who's the slave / Of others […]” (530-32), suggest that though Kreon may wish to spare Antigone, his obligation to the law as he previously made it forces him to punish her, or else seem a hypocrite to the people of Thebes.
The ode of the Chorus, focused on the fall of the house of Oedipus, reaffirms the theme of the inescapability of fate. Just as Antigone must do what is right by the laws of the gods, sealing her own fate, the entire house of Oedipus could not avoid their fates once they were set in prophecy.
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