Justice In Jean Anouilh's Antigone

Ideas on justice and law within Jean Anouilh’s Antigone as representations of the roles within Vichy France during the years nineteen forty to nineteen forty-four

In response to critic Hubert Gignoux, Jean Anouilh stated that; ‘‘The rest of my life, as long as God wills it, will remain my personal business, and I will withhold the details of it.’’ This ambiguity that shrouds Anouilh’s personal life encapsulates his political beliefs. The vagueness of Anouilh’s Antigone enables people to make their own assumptions on its social messages and stances, and which roles are being depicted by which character. This essay will examine how characters’ standards of law and justice represent the roles within Vichy France during the start of the nineteen

Your brother’s body rotting under my windows is a high enough price to pay for law and order. My son loves you. I’ve paid enough. Don’t force me to pay with you too. (39).

Creon asks that Antigone stops seeking out justice for her brother in order to continue having law and order. This is a parallel to the Vichy government’s request that there be no rebellion against Germany in exchange for peace between the two nations. The idea of submission to the law is continued when Creon states that;

CREON. The law is meant especially for you, Antigone – it’s meant especially for the daughters of kings!” (32).

Creon here acts as the government, telling Antigone, a symbol of the rebellion, that the law was made in order to keep her subdued. To conclude, Creon’s lack of authority when he is defying the law and his efforts to compromise between Antigone and the law distinguish him as a representation of the Vichy government.

Finally, through her defiance of the law, Antigone embodies the French resistance. To start, Antigone is characterized as someone who will seek out justice, regardless of the consequences, as shown when she states;

ANTIGONE. If I’d been a servant girl up to the elbows in dishwater when I heard the edict, I’s have dried my hands and gone out in my apron to bury my brother.

Antigone tells Creon that her goals are not to incite other people to fight, but to fulfill her own principles of justice. This displays the individualism of the early resistance. Lastly, Antigone expresses her distaste for Creon’s attempts at trying to make her understand his side;

ANTIGONE. (shaking her head). I don’t want to. It’s all very well for you, but I’m not here to understand. I’m here to say no to you, and to die. (40).

Antigone rejects Creon’s efforts at compromising, similar to how the Resistance rejected the Vichy government's efforts at compromising with Germany. She does not want to understand why Creon needs certain laws for order within Thebes; she wants to do what is right and she is prepared to die for it. To end, Antigone’s independence and her determination in upholding her standards of justice is what relates her to the French Resistance.

In conclusion, the views on justice and law within Antigone are representative of roles in Nazi occupied France. The secondary characters, due to their disinterest in the law and fairness and submission to authority, are the majority of the French People. Alternatively, Creon, who tries to compromise between two incompatible things and who has diminished power over the law, is the Vichy government. Finally, Antigone’s independent action and her unwavering in her ideals makes her identify as the French