How Does Polynices Lose His Family In Antigone

In both plays, Antigone has a great deal of hubris that cause her to feel incredibly obligated to look after her family and keep them from being disgraced. In Anouilh’s version of the play, Antigone maintains her unbelievable need to bury her brother despite learning from Creon that he is not someone she would think he is. Creon says ‘I was with your father one day when Polynices, having lost a lot of money gambling, asked him to settle the debt; and when your father refused, the boy raised his hand against him … He struck your father in the face with his fist. It was pitiful;. Your father sat at his desk with his head in his hands, … He was weeping with anguish. … In a corner of your fathers’ study, Polynices stood sneering and lighting a

According to Creon, Polynices is a scoundrel who does not respect his family or his father. As a member of the royal family, it is necessary to set an example for the Thebans. However, Creon says that Polynices ‘lost a lot of money gambling’ and ‘struck’ his ‘father in the face’. After shaming the family name, Polynices still finds it acceptable to demand money from his father who is the king at that time. This shows how rebellious and unlikable Polynices is as a person and as a son. Furthermore, Polynices ‘stood sneering and lighting a cigarette’ in front his father. His demeanor suggests an intense level of defiant. Not only does this depicts that Polynices has no signs of guilty and intentions of apologizing but it shows the most extreme form of disrespect that a son can have towards a father. Despite all this, Antigone does not seem to have an efficient brain that allows her to process the situation effectively. Her ignorant response “ ‘That’s a lie!’ “ (Anouilh 54) shows her stubbornness to carry out her filial duty regardless of the truth. Similarly, in Sophocles’ version of the play, Antigone’s strange reflection before her death does not justify her frequent portrayal of filial duty. During Antigone’s last moments, she appears to regret her decisions knowing that no one would accompany her. However, she manages to deliver illogical reasons to convince

After being declared execution by Creon, Antigone should have taken the time to reevaluate her prior mistakes. While she seems to regret her decision initially, she quickly changes her previous beliefs by convincing herself that her parents are happy to see her once she dies. This shows her inability to see her hamartia which leads to her much deserved death. As one of the last member of her family, Antigone should have stayed alive so that her family can be preserved. This is ironic as Antigone often explicitly displays her filial duty, yet she does not realize the fact that no father wants to see his family become completely dissipated; killing herself is a form of disrespect to her family. The fact that she is not able to see through this shows how much she is being controlled by her hubris. Both Sophocles and Anouilh’s version of Antigone delineates that people must not rely too much on their ability of free will to make choices. Due to the absurd decisions that Antigone chooses in spite of the degree of illogical they are, her excessive hubris kept her from seeing the truth. As a result, Antigone was not able to be saved in both plays. In life, people must be able to use their ability of free will