A Woman's Place In a Tragic Society

Why is Antigone so concerned with glory (113)? Should she be?

Antigone acted upon the death of her brothers in a noble way to respect both of them. She simply wanted both of her brothers to be buried ceremoniously rather than one’s memory be disrespected and the others honored. In burying and honoring her brother, who was supposed to be a traitor to the city, Antigone was not trying to attain any sort of glory. In doing this, she wanted equality in the burials of her family. Her going against the King and city was not supposed to anger or impress anyone. However, after it happened, Antigone herself realized how noble her acts of secrecy were. In doing this, I believe that she acquired a sense of self-respect and thought of herself as brave. When Ismene tried to not only claim the glory for the act, but also condescendingly attempt to save her sister, Antigone would hear nothing of it. Her sister, who initially did not approve of the burial, was stealing Antigone’s new sense of accomplishment. I understand Antigone’s point of view and can relate to it because even though Ismene meant well to save her sister, she was actually offending her. One must be brave to defy one’s family and King like Antigone did. She has every right to be concerned with her glory because when she asked her sister, who is now claiming it, to help her at first, she refused. Overall I feel that Antigone rightfully earned her glory through her courage and bravery and had every right to feel threatened by someone attempting to claim it.


What is Ismene’s view of the relationship between men and women (61-62)?

I believe that part of Ismene’s original problem with the secret burial was not only that she was breaking the law, but also that she was going against a male’s orders and a male-based community. Ismene showed a feeling of inferiority to men because she simply wished to go along with all the decisions the men had made. Perhaps if Ismene could see past the unreasonable rulings of Creon and help her sister with the burial, things would have turned out differently for the characters in the tragedy. Antigone contrasts her sister because her personality is more impulsive and confident in her beliefs, while her sister is unconfident of who she is and what she believes. After Antigone completes the act, Ismene agrees and wishes to share the blame. However, it is just not fair to Antigone because when she actually needed her sister’s help, Ismene was not there or willing. While this was a possible jealousy issue between the sisters, I think that Ismene lacked the courage to act against the King. This is not necessarily a bad thing that Ismene has the personality traits that she does, but it a problem that she wishes to act later my taking the blame for the burial. It seems as if she is almost trying to become someone she is not and later wishes she had completed the “crime.” Ismene’s inferiority complex to males constantly forces her to live her life by not necessarily doing what she wants to do, but doing what she is told. Ismene, though she may not want to act or feel this way, often shows this inferiority complex through her respect, fear, and love of the males in the community (568).