71 pages • 2 hours read
SophoclesAntigone
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Themes
Fate and Its Inescapability
Fate, and its inescapability is the primary theme of all three of Sophocles’ Theban plays. All the actions of Antigone are incited and decided by fate, and as such are incontrovertible despite the best or worst intentions of mortals. For example, Eteokles and Polyneikes battle each other because they were cursed by their father Oedipus to do so. Antigone’s doom is also prophesied due to Oedipus’ own sins. The death of Haimon is in turn fated by Kreon’s acts.
Oedipus, Antigone, and Haimon lived and died as prophecy predicted they would. The unavoidability of prophecy, articulated by seers but spoken by the gods, indicates that in this world, humans have no right to decide their fate. When Kreon declares that no one can save “those girls from their fate” (829), he both blasphemes before the gods and ironically makes a true statement. As the Messenger says, “Mortals should not swear anything’s / Impossible” (429-30). What comes for us in this life is only the domain of the gods.
God and Man’s Law
Mortal and divine law are at odds in this play, a situation that always leads to the punishment of mortals by death. In Antigone, Kreon’s law to leave Polyneikes unburied is in direct contest with the law of the gods that cities and families should bury their own.
Throughout the play, Kreon receives multiple opportunities to realize that he stands in the way of divine law. First, the Chorus suggests it. Then, the portent of the whirlwind over the body of Polyneikes, as told by the Messenger, suggests the displeasure of the gods. Next, Antigone stands as a representative of the will of the gods in direct counter to Kreon. When Kreon asks her why she “dared to overstep the law” (407)—in other words his decree as king—Antigone answers “it was not Zeus who made that proclamation […]. Nor did I think your proclamation so strong / That you, a mortal, could overrule the laws / Of the gods” (408-503). In other words, Antigone’s actions, though unlawful on Earth, serve a higher law.
Youth and Age
The struggle of Antigone is a struggle between two generations. On one side of this divide is the generation of Kreon and Oedipus, whose foolish actions in their own lives doom their children to ill fates. On the other side of this divide are their children, Antigone and Haimon, who, despite their youth, are filled with knowledge and reverence for natural law. This conflict between the old and young, with the old depicted as foolish and the young wise, is an inversion of the standard relationship between these categories and stands to show how backwards the house of Oedipus has become. Beyond the house of Oedipus, however, the play suggests that all elderly people are at risk of moral relativism. This danger is symbolized by the Chorus, made up of elderly citizens of Thebes, who initially side with Kreon and condemn Antigone despite knowing that she has acted justly. The old should listen to the wisdom of the youth and allow themselves to be guided by it, as the old blind seer Teiresias allows himself to be guided on his way by a boy.
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By Sophocles
