Antigone Sacrifice Analysis
Lakota Godsey
Professor Schindler
May 1, 2015
Sacrificing Womanhood: Antigone
In Sophocles’ Antigone, an obvious power struggle between men and women exists as they are bound by traditional gender roles. Antigone, the antagonist, becomes dissatisfied with the powerlessness and supposed inferiority of Greek women. She disturbs the traditional gender roles by going against the king’s commands and sacrificing herself for her brother. She insists that her extreme family loyalty drives her to sacrifice herself, but her dialogue with the other characters reveals that her own selfishness greatly influences her sacrifice as well. Antigone’s dissatisfaction with the traditional woman reveals that her ulterior motive behind her sacrifice is …show more content…
to avoid not only living an empty, complacent life but also dying a shameful death.
Antigone’s familial loyalty and her frustration with traditional gender roles are both apparent in the opening lines of the play as her sister, Ismene, refuses to help her bury
Polyneices. Ismene’s claim that “We must remember, first, that we two are by nature women and not fit to fight with men” (6162) suggests that she strictly adheres to her supposed gender roles.
Antigone rejects Ismene’s contentment with female inferiority and with dishonoring Polyneices;
Antigone’s main priority is her family and she cannot comprehend why Ismene prioritizes obeying the king’s commands over her own family. Antigone’s extreme familial loyalty is apparent as she insists that she doesn’t care to die while trying to bury and honor her brother
(72.) Obviously, Antigone would gladly do anything for her family. However, Ismene is not as willing to sacrifice her life for her family; because of Ismene’s cowardice, Antigone …show more content…
belittles,
insults, and threatens her. Antigone warns Ismene that because her passivity dishonors the gods, she should be vigilant of her destiny. However, along with Antigone’s anger comes confidence and arrogance. Antigone’s mocking and critical tone suggests that she feels a sense of pride and superiority as she realizes that soon she will do something that Ismene cannot bring herself to do: overcome her gender oppression and honor her family by disobeying the king.
Although Antigone boasts family values and insists that the sole reason she sacrifices herself is for her brother, her fear of dying a meaningless death suggests otherwise. Antigone admits that when she sacrifices herself for her brother, “what [she] shall suffer will be far less dire than dying an ignoble death” (9596). Thus, she considers dying for nothing the worst fate possible. Essentially, dying without a worthy cause is her biggest fear. Perhaps this accounts for
Antigone’s willingness to bury her brother: sacrificing herself for her brother gives her a chance to die a noble death. While she definitely does value her family strongly, her enthusiasm and willingness to die suggests that something else besides her brother motivates her to sacrifice herself. Usually, people who are about to die are not happy or enthusiastic, but Antigone is. She seems way too eager for someone who will soon sacrifice her life, marriage, and family; she is excited to die because she cares more about dying a noble death than about living. Antigone, because she finds herself bound by traditional gender roles, does not know if she will ever get another opportunity to die for a worthy cause because essentially, society expects her to marry, have children, and then die. Antigone obviously rejects this way of life of Greek women because she finds it meaningless. Her fear of an empty death reveals why she neglects her expected lifestyle; she refrains from living like a traditional Greek woman because she thinks that their lifestyle inevitably leads them to die a shameful death. Because Antigone refuses to die an
ignoble death, she willingly and enthusiastically sacrifices herself and her future as a conventional Greek woman.
The dialogue between Kreon and Antigone after she gets caught burying Polyneices reveals that her sacrifice is motivated by selfish reasons rather than by family values. Antigone, although she supposedly sacrifices herself for her brother, craves admiration and attention for her seemingly noble actions. After the guards catch her, she mocks and insults Kreon, calling him a fool and claiming that his laws mean nothing. The chorus realizes her arrogance and calls her a
“fierce child” (471.) Obviously, Antigone is very proud of her actions, and she wants everyone to praise her for her heroism and bravery. Antigone’s pride frustrates Kreon so much that he insists that her selfsatisfaction is “a second outrage: after doing it to boast of it and laugh, exulting in her deed” (483484.) Antigone’s bragging represents her need for attention, something that
Greek women don’t get much of. By boasting and insulting Kreon, she acts very unwomanly; a traditional Greek woman would never behave in this manner or try so hard to get attention.
Kreon realizes that Antigone has overstepped her gender boundaries as he admits that “It’s clear enough that I’m no man, but she’s the man, if she can get away with holding power like this”
(484485.) By equating Antigone with a man, Kreon shows that Antigone’s sacrifice has given her more power than she had previously. Throughout this conversation, Antigone becomes increasingly more pleased with herself as she recognizes her increase of power and Kreon’s frustration. Her increasing arrogance proves that she didn’t sacrifice herself just to honor her brother, but that she intended to get some sort of personal reward out of the sacrifice. If her intentions were solely to honor her family, then she wouldn’t be concerned with getting attention
and she certainly wouldn’t be boasting of her actions. Thus, her “noble” actions actually have very selfish roots.
The selfishness of Antigone’s actions is also apparent as Ismene tries to take some of the blame for Polyneices’ burial. When Ismene claims “I did the deed if she will join in saying so,”
(536) Antigone becomes defensive and insulted. Antigone, proud of her actions and extremely arrogant, wants to take all the credit herself. She asserts, “Don’t try to share this death with me.
Don’t claim as yours a deed you did not touch. My own death will suffice” (476477). Antigone becomes angered because she wants to be recognized as the sole hero. Antigone’s desire for heroism, a traditionally male trait, reveals both her dissatisfaction for traditional womanhood and her attempt to escape her gender boundaries.
Antigone thinks that Ismene is trying to take the credit for her heroism, and she becomes outraged. Antigone, despite Ismene’s pleas to stop, mocks her. Antigone’s mocking reveals that she feels prideful and superior because of her actions. It can be assumed that Antigone thinks she’s better than Ismene, and that’s why she insults her; Antigone thinks that Ismene isn’t honorable enough to sacrifice herself. Antigone, after the sacrifice, wants to be known for her nobility, heroism, and bravery. However, if she was sacrificing herself for her brother, she wouldn’t need the recognition and attention that she obviously craves. But, because she insists that everyone knows of her greatness and nobility, it can be assumed that her true intentions behind the sacrifice are for self benefit only.
When Antigone sacrifices herself, she also sacrifices her womanhood. She behaves in a manner completely opposite of what Greek women should behave in, and she sacrifices her marriage, which is a woman’s sole purpose. Her rejection of the conventional woman’s
lifestyle is apparent in her eagerness to refuse complacency and marriage, even when it means sacrificing
her life. She condemns the worthless life that women are required to live, and believes that nothing but a meaningless death can follow that kind of life. To escape this fate, and die a noble death, Antigone sacrifices what it means to be a woman. She realizes that nothing good can come out of her life because she’s a woman, so she chooses to break gender boundaries and sacrifice herself in an attempt to make something out of her life.
Professor Schindler
May 1, 2015
Sacrificing Womanhood: Antigone
In Sophocles’ Antigone, an obvious power struggle between men and women exists as they are bound by traditional gender roles. Antigone, the antagonist, becomes dissatisfied with the powerlessness and supposed inferiority of Greek women. She disturbs the traditional gender roles by going against the king’s commands and sacrificing herself for her brother. She insists that her extreme family loyalty drives her to sacrifice herself, but her dialogue with the other characters reveals that her own selfishness greatly influences her sacrifice as well. Antigone’s dissatisfaction with the traditional woman reveals that her ulterior motive behind her sacrifice is …show more content…
to avoid not only living an empty, complacent life but also dying a shameful death.
Antigone’s familial loyalty and her frustration with traditional gender roles are both apparent in the opening lines of the play as her sister, Ismene, refuses to help her bury
Polyneices. Ismene’s claim that “We must remember, first, that we two are by nature women and not fit to fight with men” (6162) suggests that she strictly adheres to her supposed gender roles.
Antigone rejects Ismene’s contentment with female inferiority and with dishonoring Polyneices;
Antigone’s main priority is her family and she cannot comprehend why Ismene prioritizes obeying the king’s commands over her own family. Antigone’s extreme familial loyalty is apparent as she insists that she doesn’t care to die while trying to bury and honor her brother
(72.) Obviously, Antigone would gladly do anything for her family. However, Ismene is not as willing to sacrifice her life for her family; because of Ismene’s cowardice, Antigone …show more content…
belittles,
insults, and threatens her. Antigone warns Ismene that because her passivity dishonors the gods, she should be vigilant of her destiny. However, along with Antigone’s anger comes confidence and arrogance. Antigone’s mocking and critical tone suggests that she feels a sense of pride and superiority as she realizes that soon she will do something that Ismene cannot bring herself to do: overcome her gender oppression and honor her family by disobeying the king.
Although Antigone boasts family values and insists that the sole reason she sacrifices herself is for her brother, her fear of dying a meaningless death suggests otherwise. Antigone admits that when she sacrifices herself for her brother, “what [she] shall suffer will be far less dire than dying an ignoble death” (9596). Thus, she considers dying for nothing the worst fate possible. Essentially, dying without a worthy cause is her biggest fear. Perhaps this accounts for
Antigone’s willingness to bury her brother: sacrificing herself for her brother gives her a chance to die a noble death. While she definitely does value her family strongly, her enthusiasm and willingness to die suggests that something else besides her brother motivates her to sacrifice herself. Usually, people who are about to die are not happy or enthusiastic, but Antigone is. She seems way too eager for someone who will soon sacrifice her life, marriage, and family; she is excited to die because she cares more about dying a noble death than about living. Antigone, because she finds herself bound by traditional gender roles, does not know if she will ever get another opportunity to die for a worthy cause because essentially, society expects her to marry, have children, and then die. Antigone obviously rejects this way of life of Greek women because she finds it meaningless. Her fear of an empty death reveals why she neglects her expected lifestyle; she refrains from living like a traditional Greek woman because she thinks that their lifestyle inevitably leads them to die a shameful death. Because Antigone refuses to die an
ignoble death, she willingly and enthusiastically sacrifices herself and her future as a conventional Greek woman.
The dialogue between Kreon and Antigone after she gets caught burying Polyneices reveals that her sacrifice is motivated by selfish reasons rather than by family values. Antigone, although she supposedly sacrifices herself for her brother, craves admiration and attention for her seemingly noble actions. After the guards catch her, she mocks and insults Kreon, calling him a fool and claiming that his laws mean nothing. The chorus realizes her arrogance and calls her a
“fierce child” (471.) Obviously, Antigone is very proud of her actions, and she wants everyone to praise her for her heroism and bravery. Antigone’s pride frustrates Kreon so much that he insists that her selfsatisfaction is “a second outrage: after doing it to boast of it and laugh, exulting in her deed” (483484.) Antigone’s bragging represents her need for attention, something that
Greek women don’t get much of. By boasting and insulting Kreon, she acts very unwomanly; a traditional Greek woman would never behave in this manner or try so hard to get attention.
Kreon realizes that Antigone has overstepped her gender boundaries as he admits that “It’s clear enough that I’m no man, but she’s the man, if she can get away with holding power like this”
(484485.) By equating Antigone with a man, Kreon shows that Antigone’s sacrifice has given her more power than she had previously. Throughout this conversation, Antigone becomes increasingly more pleased with herself as she recognizes her increase of power and Kreon’s frustration. Her increasing arrogance proves that she didn’t sacrifice herself just to honor her brother, but that she intended to get some sort of personal reward out of the sacrifice. If her intentions were solely to honor her family, then she wouldn’t be concerned with getting attention
and she certainly wouldn’t be boasting of her actions. Thus, her “noble” actions actually have very selfish roots.
The selfishness of Antigone’s actions is also apparent as Ismene tries to take some of the blame for Polyneices’ burial. When Ismene claims “I did the deed if she will join in saying so,”
(536) Antigone becomes defensive and insulted. Antigone, proud of her actions and extremely arrogant, wants to take all the credit herself. She asserts, “Don’t try to share this death with me.
Don’t claim as yours a deed you did not touch. My own death will suffice” (476477). Antigone becomes angered because she wants to be recognized as the sole hero. Antigone’s desire for heroism, a traditionally male trait, reveals both her dissatisfaction for traditional womanhood and her attempt to escape her gender boundaries.
Antigone thinks that Ismene is trying to take the credit for her heroism, and she becomes outraged. Antigone, despite Ismene’s pleas to stop, mocks her. Antigone’s mocking reveals that she feels prideful and superior because of her actions. It can be assumed that Antigone thinks she’s better than Ismene, and that’s why she insults her; Antigone thinks that Ismene isn’t honorable enough to sacrifice herself. Antigone, after the sacrifice, wants to be known for her nobility, heroism, and bravery. However, if she was sacrificing herself for her brother, she wouldn’t need the recognition and attention that she obviously craves. But, because she insists that everyone knows of her greatness and nobility, it can be assumed that her true intentions behind the sacrifice are for self benefit only.
When Antigone sacrifices herself, she also sacrifices her womanhood. She behaves in a manner completely opposite of what Greek women should behave in, and she sacrifices her marriage, which is a woman’s sole purpose. Her rejection of the conventional woman’s
lifestyle is apparent in her eagerness to refuse complacency and marriage, even when it means sacrificing
her life. She condemns the worthless life that women are required to live, and believes that nothing but a meaningless death can follow that kind of life. To escape this fate, and die a noble death, Antigone sacrifices what it means to be a woman. She realizes that nothing good can come out of her life because she’s a woman, so she chooses to break gender boundaries and sacrifice herself in an attempt to make something out of her life.