Alyssa Belanger

Mrs. Ames
ENG3UN
2015-10-12
Pre Reading Response to Antigone
Before we read Antigone we looked at justice and where we can find it in our
culture. We can mostly find justice in our court system, for example, the west
Memphis three were wrongly accused of murdering three boys and were sent to jail
(unjust) for many years before getting let out with the help of people who believed
that they were not guilty (just). There are examples of justice in literature and
poetry, for example, in the poem Punishment by Seamus Heaney you can see how
Justice in the past and justice now can be very similar (justice as in punishing
women who commit adultery or keeping company with British soldiers in Ireland).
This poem can also represent injustice, as the poet feels that this girls death and
the woman in Irelands punishments are unjust. You can see justice in your own
home with parents giving time outs etc. to children who have done wrong, or cops
giving tickets to people who drive faster than the speed limit. Justice is a theme that
can be found in mostly every movie, video game, or book and you can see why it is
so prominent in our culture. To me justice means doing the right thing whether or
not mercy is involved. It can be abused when the person in power has an
uncommon idea of justice, for example, a murderer feeling that it is just to kill
people, or a dictator who feels that keeping people in line will create a better
society. There are many ways that people can interpret justice, this is why I think

that its a concept based more on opinion. The opposite of justice would be
injustice; I think an injustice would be murder, false accusation, or anything that
goes against my moral views or good judgement. To conclude I think that justice is
or should be viewed as doing the right thing, punishing the villain, and protecting
others.
Mini Responses
First Third:

Page 193
Ismene
Prologue

And now, we two are left.

Think how much worse our end will be than all the rest
If we defy our sovereigns edict and his power.
Remind ourselves that we are women
And as such are not made to fight with men.
For might unfortunately is right
And makes us bow to things like this and worse.

Before Ismene said this to Antigone, Antigone told her Creons edict to not
bury their brother, Polyneices, after the war because Polyneices was a traitor.
Antigone doesnt believe this is a fair judgement and confronts her sister about her
decision to bury Polyneices against Creon. Ismene reminded her that the rest of her
family has died therefore their punishment may be worse than being stoned.
Ismene believes it is not wise for a woman to go against a man, especially Creon.
While Antigone feels that she has nothing to lose.
These lines represent Contrast. It shows the differences between Ismene and
Antigone where Antigone doesnt seem to care about consequences and Ismene

does. We see from this how strong willed Antigone is and can also help us
understand her motives as well as Ismenes. Contrast is important in the play
because it creates different and dynamic characters and can help to forward the
plot.
Second third:
So let your anger
I may be young but
Let men be wise by

cool, and change your mind.

Page 222
Haemon
Third Episode

But then when this

wise by good advice

not without some sense.

instinct if they can,
fails and nature wont oblige, be

Haemon has just confronted his father about how he and the people of
Thebes feel about Creon putting Antigone to death. Haemon not only doesnt want
to lose Antigone (being her fianc) he also cares about protecting his father and.
Haemon tells his father that Thebes has been sympathizing with Antigone because
no women ever faced / so unreasonable, so cruel a death, / for such a generous
cause (10-13). Haemon asks of his father to listen to him and the people and to
stop prioritizing his opinion over the people.
This part of the play is situational irony for Creon. Creon at the beginning of
the play stated he would always listen to good advice, and now, his son is begging
him to listen to the peoples advice and opinions. Creon does not want to take

advice as he sees his edict of putting Thebes before his family and punishing
traitors very important. This situational irony is also a tool used for characterization
of Creon. This irony shows that he is stubborn,
proud, and blind to anything but his own opinion
thoughts on how a proud king should act.

Page 246
Messenger
Epilogue

or

Third:
Choking blood in crimson jets upon her waxen face.
Corpse wrapped in love with corpse he lies,
Married not in life but Hades:
Lesson to the world that inhumane designs
Wreak a havoc immeasurably inhumane.

Before the messenger explained to Euridyce what had happened to her son,
they buried Polyneices. Then a messenger came to tell Creon his son has killed
himself, Euridyce walks in and asks the messenger to tell her everything. Here we
find out that after Polyneices burial people heard screams from where Antigone was
kept, Creon and his men opened the cave to find Haemon holding Antigones
hanging body, Haemon then tried to stab his father but when he missed he stabbed
himself and held Antigone while he died.

This passage evokes pathos for the characters and the tragedy they have just
undergone. Pathos for Haemon and all he lost by his fathers hand, for Antigone who
never had the chance to be freed before her death, and for Creon and Euridyce who
had to suffer through hatred and loss because Creon thought he was making the
right decision by not burying a traitor and punishing those who would. Pathos is an
important feature in tragedy plays, it creates mood, keeps the audience more
emotionally involved, and creates a good story.

Alyssa Belanger
Mrs. Ames
ENG3UN
2015-10-20
Role of Women in Antigone
In the play Antigone there is a specific image portrayed of how women were
seen in that time period. Many characters in the play support this idea through their
dialogue. Through this I deciphered that the characters seemed to believe that
women were inferior to men, not to be involved in politics, and it was seen as
disgraceful when a woman went against a man. These are found frequently in the
play and it reflects the culture of ancient Greece and their views of women.
You can find many quotes that lead the reader to believe that in this society
woman are seen as inferior. For example: You would not kill your own sons bride?
/ let him sow his seed in other furrows. / A match like theirs will not repeat itself.

/ I shudder at the jades who court our sons (Creon, Ismene, Page 217). This quote
represents how little they thought of women in this play. Creon states that his son
can bear children with other women, Antigone shouldnt be that important to his
son, and he calls Antigone a jade (a disreputable women or an inferior horse).
Creons harsh tone and comments lead me to believe that he thinks women are
made for childbirth and childbirth only. He dismissed Ismenes question as though
women are easily replaceable and there is should be no harm in killing Antigone.
Another example would be Creon telling the guards to lock Antigone and Ismene up
so they couldnt roam any longer; he ended this statement with they are women
now (Creon, page 217). This reinforced his views on women and his beliefs on how
Antigone and Ismene dont deserve any more freedom; this is based off of their sex.
Next, in the play we see how women were not seen as able to participate in
politics. Firstly, from the fact that Antigone and Ismene in the beginning of the play
dont even consider talking to Creon about their concerns on not burying Polyneices
is a key indicator that the government set in place does not consider a womans
views. This also shows that this is something that these women have grown up with,
and even though they are Creons nieces, they do not consider talking to him
because they know it will not work. This idea is supported later on when you see
multiple people tell Creon their opinions (all male) on the subject and the only thing
that angers him is that they do not share his opinion (his fatal flaw is pride).
Secondly, we see that Creon doesnt want women involved in politics through his
revulsion for the sex portrayed in his dialogue. This is also a key indicator that he
wouldnt want, consider, or even listen to what women would have to say,
especially because he is so prideful. Lastly, I find it rather shocking that Creons
wife, Euridyce, has no appearance, role, or output throughout the play, until the

very end. This to me shows how little effect even the queen has on Creon, the
government, or decision making, since she had no part in any of these. These
factors lead me to believe that women arent involved in Greek culture/play politics,
and can show us how unheard-of it was for a women to stand up to a man.
Since the Culture that we see in the play can be related to the early 1900s
we can understand some of the ideas that are presented in this work. One of these
ideas would be the embarrassment of being defeated, out-powered, or out-witted by
women. We can see this throughout the play from Ismenes concerns to Creons
astonishment and embarrassment that comes from Antigones decision to bury her
brother. The first example would be of Ismene, who stated Remind ourselves that
we are women / and as such are not meant to fight with men(Ismene, page 193).
Here Ismene is telling her sister that because she is a women Creon will be even
harder on them for trying to disobey and break laws behind his back. This quote and
my interpretation lead me to believe that men do not take fondly to women who
dont stay in their place and try to out-power them (this quote can also mean that
women are much weaker physically or mentally, but since this is a very political
play I hypothesised a political interpretation). The next examples are Creon and his
comments on women. Creon stated no women while I live shall govern me (Creon,
page 214). This quote directly relates to how men see women as lesser, and do not
allow for women to be higher than them in any situation. This leads me to believe
that men of that time find it disgraceful to be less than a woman who is deemed
inferior to the male sex. My last example of this would be when Creon tells Haemon
Let us then defend authority / and not be ousted by a girl. / If yield we must, then
let it be to men. To me this is a clear example that Creon believes that women are
not worthy enough to be ousted by in any way. I believe that Haemon sees different

because Antigone is someone he loves, and the people support Antigone because
she is being punished for a valiant and respectful crime. I feel that if Antigone were
a peasant or a stranger Haemon would not feel this way, and if Antigone were male
I feel the chorus would still support her. When you look at this concept in Antigone
you can see it is not very different from the 1900s, where men were able to beat
women if they werent abiding by the mans rule.
In conclusion we see multiple examples of women not being able to get
involved in politics, men feeling it was for women to be better than them in any
way, and their views on how women were inferior. Since art (visual, dramatic,
language) and culture are directly related you can presume that these concepts
were common in Ancient Greece and their society and can be directly related to our
not-so-distant past. The evidence supporting these concepts is shown throughout
the play and can give us clues to the womens roles in this society.