At a glimpse, Antigone can appear to be a transparent conflict between political authority and private conscience that can be simplified to a debate on morality. Sophocles certainly centers the play around the direct collision between Antigone and Creon, prompting the audience to consider whose law, the law of the state or the unwritten law of the Gods, supersedes the other. However, despite their contradicting adherences, both Antigone and Creon suffered harsh punishments for their actions. The solution to determining whose actions can be assessed as good will always remain elusive because it is within the boundaries of morality. Morality lies within the realm of proper conduct, confining the depth to which the play can be interpreted. On the other hand, ethics belong to the range of considerations that affects choice and action. It reveals the genuine nature of a character’s desire and sheds light on their motivation and disposition. Antigone holds no moral purpose. The complexity which underlies the play that continues to hold as much relevance and value for the modern audience as it did for the ancient Greek audience is within Antigone’s embodiment of virtuous ethic.
Antigone’s obstinacy and ethical will are what defines her as an intriguing but sympathetic character. From the beginning of the play, Sophocles sets her up to encompass the highest ideals and qualities by contrasting her determination to defy Creon against her sister Ismene’s lack of will. Antigone not only recognizes but expresses it as an inherent understanding that Creon’s decree does not possess “sufficient strength to nullify the deities’ secure, unwritten laws” or her duty to her unburied brother, Polyneices (25). For this reason, she resisted her sister’s persuasion and even condemns her harshly for her unwillingness to help. Her filial devotion and loyalty to the Gods take precedence over her life as she sacrifices it with confidence. She retains this stubborn defiance during the confrontation with Creon and remains firm in her course of action even as he condemns her to death. As she is led to her death, she falters on her noble commitment for the first and only time, lamenting that she is “deprived of marriage evermore, deprived of hymns, the river’s bride” (43). Her vulnerability humanizes her but does not weaken her will. Rather than accepting Creon’s punishment, she takes her own life, dying on her own terms and remaining defiant to her last breath.
Even though Antigone and Creon were in complete opposition, they were both justified in the choices they made. Creon believed that Eteocles, who respected “law and justice”, gained himself “an honored place among the dead below” while Polyneices, a traitor of the state, deserved to be “buried, unlamented” (4,5). As the head of the state, Creon’s deep concern for political authority and justice justifies the edict which deprived Polyneices of his funeral rites. However, the decree itself has no influence over the political state. Whether or not Polyneices is buried is not a matter of politics, but of morality. What Creon overlooks is that in issuing that law, he transgresses a higher divine law. He also fails to sympathize with Antigone’s position and instead, his harsh nature becomes her source of motivation to act. His logic was sensible and his actions were validated until he allowed his pride and temper to run free. The fate that befalls him is not a direct result of the law but is caused by the pride that blinded him from sense and reason and made him deaf to the warnings of his son, Haemon, and the prophet, Tiresias. His ego restrained him from retracting the law and he was unwilling to admit defeat against a woman. As a result, his son and wife committed suicide and he is left to suffer from immense sorrow and guilt.
Both Antigone and Creon received harsh repercussions but while Antigone’s will remains strong until the end, Creon’s becomes completely shattered. They differ not in temperament but in ethics. Antigone allows her untainted and unyielding sense of righteousness to lead her. She takes the path that few dares to venture on and dies upholding her beliefs. She ultimately earns the respect and sympathy of both the modern and ancient audience.
Ismene is an effective illustration of what can be considered as a natural reaction to fear. She not only serves as a comparison against the strong-willed Antigone but she also is likely the most relatable character in the play for the majority of the audience. Conquering a fear of death and a fear of authority is a feat that appears almost impossible. Ismene’s inability to overcome these fears makes her human. She is a reflection of what Sophocles view as an inherent human condition, the desire for security in life and the tendency to fear punishment.
Sophocles’ Antigone is not meant to conform to a set of standards and expectations or to satisfy a particular group of audience, but rather it is expected of the audience to interpret Antigone and to adapt to the fierce nature of the main character. There will be a discrepancy in the reaction and interpretation between the modern and ancient audience. For instance, Ismene’s resignation to the “powerful decree” because of her identity as a “women, unequipped to battle men” and “under those more powerful by far” reflects the male-dominated society in ancient Greece (7). Many remarks made by Creon echo the same perception of weak and obedience in women. In response to Antigone’s defiance, he claims that “no woman gets to rule while I’m alive” and when Ismene reminded him that sentencing Antigone to death would be killing his son’s bride-to-be, he replies that they could find “another fertile field to plow” (29, 32). The status of women and their role in society has significantly changed in the present even though the notion of gender inequality still exists. When encountering these references in the play, it can appear as a surprise or shock to the modern audience. However, it provides valuable insight into gender roles that may have been perceived as the norm during the time the play was written. Antigone’s defiance is another instance where the two audiences do not share the same interpretation. The choral leader condemns her boldness as being “fierce as her ferocious father was” and unbending “beneath adversity” (26). While the modern audience may view it as heroic and honorable, the ancient audience would have viewed it as an offense.
The progression of time has caused significant changes in social norms, ideas, culture, and opinion. Aspects of these values can occasionally conflict with those of today’s modern society. However, all the ethical values Sophocles intended to convey continues to paint an extraordinary portrait of a strong-willed woman with her idealistic sense of honor and bravery.