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Antigone Conscience Vs Society

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Conscience vs. Society
Everyone faces difficult choices throughout their life, and many of these choices are due to the pressures of society. Society is cruel and everyone, at some point in their lives, has been at the receiving end of that cruelty and felt the sorrow it brings. In Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone finds herself faced with the choice of doing what her heart says is right, and burying her dead sibling or following what society has decreed as the right thing to do and leave him “to be devoured by dogs and fowls of the air.” (Sophocles, page 12) Antigone’s sister, Ismene, faces the same choice though she is less willing to defy society in favor of family obligations. The sisters are not the only ones that must face such choices, Creon’s son, Haemon, is in a dangerous position by fighting for Antigone and betraying his father's wishes. Antigone is a strong character that fights for what she believes in. She is not a person who is …show more content…

This stands true for Antigone and her sister Ismene. While Antigone is fiercely loyal to her brother and willing to risk her life to give him his burial, Ismene is too intimidated by society to participate in the burial. She believes that Antigone is wrong to challenge Creon’s law. “I needs must do, but yield obedience to them that walk in power; to exceed is madness, and not wisdom.” (Sophocles, page 4) After Antigone is caught and she realizes that she will have no family left after she is executed, Ismene starts to sing a different tune. “How could I live on alone, without my sister.” (Sophocles, page 32) She tries to take credit for the burial with Antigone. Ismene is distraught when Antigone rejects her and so she tries to appeal to Creon, asking him how he could kill his son’s bride-to-be. When Creon brushes off her pleas, he sentences her to be sent to the dungeons with Antigone. Ismene's selfishness costed her both her life and her

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For this reason, Ismene’s opinion on Antigone’s determination to bury their brother illustrates how realistic her thoughts and actions are. When Antigone asks for Ismene’s help to burry their brother Ismene points out the flaw in her plan, “ Burry him! You have just said that the new law forbids it.” Her underlying respect for her brother made Antigone impulsive with her decision to burry her brother. With this in mind, Ismene points out her underestimating the power of authority, which demonstrates her skill of not letting emotions, get in the way of her thinking unlike her sister.

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Antigone gives up and tells her she will do it without her, and that if Ismene keeps insulting her she will despise Ismene. As Antigone leaves, Ismene calls after her and calls her a fool but states she is loved by her family still, which at this point is just Ismene and Antigone. (lines 117-120) The next time Ismene is seen is as guards lead her in and we learn she is crying. She tries to take the blame along with Antigone, however, Antigone tells her that she’s foolish, that Antigone’s death is enough, Ismene’s response is “With you dead why would I want to live”.

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For example, when Antigone first introduces her idea to bury Polyneices, Ismene disagrees with her in a peaceful yet disserting manner. Ismene tries to talk her out of it by stating the dangers and asking her to “remember how (their) Father died hated in self-disgrace, self-dismantled in horror of himself” (Sophocles 193). This shows how even though Ismene knew the danger of letting Antigone follow her morals and bury their brother, she cooperated with Antigone's wishes and kept quiet about her plan, even though she didn’t partake. Moreover, towards the end of the play, it is revealed Ismene regrets not helping Antigone and disregarding her fear of others opinions toward her if she had helped bury Polyneices. She tells Antigone, “Sister, do not scorn me; let me share your death and holy homage to the dead” (Sophocles 215).

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Antigone believes she should have the right of her brother’s burial. Creon states, “No one shall burry him, no one mourn for him” (Sophocles 2) illustrating that Polyneicis is irrelevant in the city of Thebes. The law in Greek society is a female should not have power or freedom over any circumstance. Antigone demands rights over her brother and will not accept

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