Antigone

In Jean Anouilh’s version of Antigone, the protagonist of the play, Antigone, challenges society’s orders and norms. At the time period of the play, society’s norm for women was the maintain order in the family, give life to newborns and take care of the family members. However, Antigone challenges these social orders due to her social value of life: burying her brother, Polynices, and giving him a proper burial. Thus, it is through these norms and restrictions as well as her only social value that stimulates Antigone to go against and challenge social order to bury Polynices and oppose the norm.

Most women of that era accept their lower ranks in the social ladder but Antigone is the exact opposite; she resists and topples the social ranks. Due to Antigone’s reckless behavior, Creon then sees Antigone as the antagonist to his royal order, laws of civilization and social hierarchy. However, Antigone doesn’t take into account social ranking or hierarchy; she persists to what she believed even though she was Oedipus’s daughter. She says herself, “If I’d been a servant girl up to the elbows in dishwater when I heard the edict, I’d have dried my hands and gone out in my apron to bury my brother,” showing that she perseveres and commits to her beliefs, ignoring any social norms. She acts according to her conviction since she can while, on the other hand, Creon cannot comply with his opinion; Antigone says herself, “That’s your look-out. I didn’t say yes! What do I care about your politics and what you ‘have’ to do and all your paltry affairs! I can still say no to anything I don’t like, and I alone am the judge. You, with your crown and your guards and your paraphernalia – all you can do, because you said yes, is have me put to death.” Therefore, because of the fact that Antigone has her own rights, she is tempted to act before she thinks about the consequences of her actions. Thus, due to the fact the Antigone can roam freely without being questioned, she does