Antigone and Tragedy Archetypes and Art
by Barry Wright
Essay: Antigone and Tragedy Archetypes and Art
Pages: 10
Rating: 3 stars
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Antigone as a heroic and tragic archetype must internally struggle with individuality and morality versus
established rule and law and she can be seen as externally fighting between her sister as an outward display of her
internal conflict. Antigone then is a unique archetype as a heroine and her power and powerlessness are defining
to her as a woman in politics. Her sister, Ismene is portrayed as much weaker and can be said to be metaphorical
in that individual morality is weak as compared to established law and Ismene is the personification of morality in
a legal-rational world, according to the emerging Hellenistic establishment. Antigone is willing to use her own
morals to bury Polyneices, though it is illegal to do so. Ismene is too weak and afraid and illustrates how individual
fear and weakness are a problem inherent in human nature. When Antigone disowns her, it could be seen as a
metaphor for the need to disown the weaker side of her nature.
This sibling relationship should be further examined, because it has been largely ignored by other scholars and
this relationship is rich with literary and political significance. “Most contemporary political theorists… have
focused on the fearsome clash between Antigone and Creon. The relationship between Antigone and her weaker,
more cautious sister Ismene has not garnered similar attention” (Kirkpatrick, 2001). Though Antigone as a
character can be analyzed through the lens of law and political science, her relationship to a weaker sister is more
than interesting. As Antigone is willing to use civil disobedience to live by her own morality, the reader must also
examine how a weaker and fearful person might not be able to use their own judgment and Ismene is a perfect
exam...
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