Bethany Mo

1-2. Unlike the Chorus in Sophocless Antigone, the Chorus in Anouilhs Antigone serves as a
single character who narrates the introduction and the conclusion o the play while co!!enting
and occasionally interceding during pivotal events. "he Chorus descri#es Antigone as $the tense%
sallow% willul girl whose a!ily would never take her seriously.& 'hen Antigone teases her
nurse #y suggesting that she visited a lover at night% the nurse reveals that Antigone% unlike her
$gay and #eautiul& sister% (s!ene% is a plain girl who $never used to stop and pri!p in ront o a
looking glass.& Antigones interaction with (s!ene reveals her underlying insecurity a#out her
appearance. Antigone envies her sisters #eauty and when (s!ene re!arks that she couldnt all
asleep% Antigone replies% $(s!ene% you ought not to go without your #eauty sleep.& As
Antigones older sister% (s!ene initially acts less i!pulsively and atte!pts to convince Antigone
that she has $everything in the world to !ake )her* happy& and re!inds her that she is to #e
!arried% is young% and #eautiul. Antigone i!!ediately cuts her o and plainly states that she is
not #eautiul. She stu##ornly re#us (s!enes advice% arguing that she doesnt want to #e right
or understand. She goes $rowning% glowering% wanting her own stu##orn way in everything.&
+espite their argu!ent% (s!ene shows her love and co!passion or Antigone% calling her
$darling little sister& and eventually shows her willingness to die with her at the end ,Anouilh-.
Sophocless Antigone is !ore reserved with her interaction with (s!ene% stating clearly% $+ont
ear or !e. Set your own lie in order& ,Sophocles l. ./-. Antigones stu##ornness is present in
Sophocless Antigone and re!inds her sister0 $1ou chose to live% ( chose to die& ,Sophocles l.
222-. "he 3eader in the play descri#es Antigone% $3ike ather like daughter% passionate% wild4
she hasnt learned to #end #eore adversity& ,Sophocles l. 52/-52.-.
'hile Antigones interaction with (s!ene in Anouilhs Antigone reveals her
stu##ornness% her relationship with 6ae!on urther e7e!pliies her insecurity. 8ne night at a
#all% 6ae!on% a !an o char!% une7pectedly proposed to Antigone% who is $sallow& and
$scrawny%& instead o (s!ene% who is $pink& and $golden.& "he relationship #etween 6ae!on
and Antigone in Anouilhs Antigone is !ore ro!antic co!pared to that o Sophocles. 9ven
while 6ae!on assures Antigone that it is she he loves with $all o hi!sel%& Antigone still
:uestions i he loves her. She steals her sisters !ake-up atte!pting to attract 6ae!on. 6ae!on%
hurt #y Antigones dou#t or his love% says reproachully% $1ou !ight give !e credit or
knowing !y own !ind. (ts you ( love% and no one else.& 'hen 6ae!on discovers Antigones
death sentence% he is !uch !ore e!otional in Anouilhs Antigone than Sophocless. 'hile
6ae!on speaks reasona#ly with Creon in Sophocless Antigone% 6ae!on cannot !eet with
reality and the Chorus says% $"he #oy will go !ad& ,Anouilh-. 6e kills hi!sel ater inding
Antigones dead #ody in #oth versions o the play.
6owever% it is Antigones argu!ent with Creon that truly e7poses her oolish pride. (n
Sophocless Antigone, Creon is less !erciul towards Antigone% stating that $Believe !e% the
stiest stu##orn will all the hardest%& and :uestions i others are trying to overthrow his power
,Sophocles l. 52.-5;<-. Unlike the character o Creon in Sophocless Antigone, Creon ro!
Anouilhs Antigone i!!ediately atte!pts to ind a way to allow Antigone to live. 6e tells her% $(
have always #een ond o you% stu##orn though you always were& and si!ply states that he
wants to save her. 6owever% Antigone re!ains prideul like her ather% stating% $My ather was
=ing 8edipus. ( a! Antigone.& She taunts Creon a#out choosing to take up the role as leader o
"he#es even ater Creon e7plains that $#eing a king see!s to )hi! is not* ro!antic. (t is )his*
trade.& 3ike 8edipus% she is too prideul to know her place. She calls hi! $too astidious to !ake
a good tyrant& and tells hi! that the act that he !ust put her to death rightens hi!> her pride%
coupled with her insecurity% pushes her to say% $(s there anything uglier than a rightened !an?&
9ven ater the revelation o her #rothers inco!petence and insolence% she inds another e7cuse
to die - that $lie and happiness are tawdry things and not worth possessing.& Antigone gives
Creon no choice #ut to allow her to die> Creon% resigned% accepts this tragic ate since Antigone
$was #ent upon only one thing0 to re@ect lie and to die.& Antigone hersel ad!its $( dont even
know what ( a! dying or% ( a! araid%& #ut reuses to allow others to know ,Anouilh-. 8n the
other hand% in Sophocless Antigone, Antigones tragic law is not her hu#ris. She says% $(ll
suer nothing as great as a death without glory& ,Sophocles l. A2-. Antigone only wishes to
avoid a sha!eul death% which is understanda#le and not a sign o hu#ris.
;-5. "he guards and the !ilitary presence in Anouilhs Antigone are largely indierent towards
Antigones tragedy. "he $red-aced card players& are $not a #ad lot%& have their own a!ilies% yet
are eternally innocent% no !atter what cri!es are co!!itted&% and $eternally indierent% or
nothing that happens can !atter to the!.& (s!ene e7plains that she would #e $dragged to the
scaold or torture% surrounded #y guards with their idiot aces all #loated% their ani!al hands
clean-washed or the sacriice& and that $they are like slaves who do e7actly as theyve #een
told% without caring a#out right or wrong.& As the irst guard struggles with Antigone% he says%
$'hy% i we had to listen to all the people who want to tell us whatBs the !atter with this country%
weBd never get our work done. 1ou keep hold o her and (Bll see that she keeps her ace shut.&
"he guards peror! their duty without :uestion and one guard even suggests to throw a party.
"he irst guard ra!#les a#out his duties as a guard and his own lie as he leads Antigone to her
death. 6e !erely pauses or a !o!ent when Antigone says% $(! going to die soon& with !uch
gravity% only to continue his ra!#ling. "he irst guard is the last hu!an #eing Antigone sees%
and his responds indierently with% $+a!n unny letter%& towards her last arewell with her lover
,Anouilh-. "his suggests that Antigones lack o understanding over what she is dying or
signiies that her actions have no positive outco!es. (nstead% she unknowingly causes the death
o her iancC and her !other-in-law. Anouilhs play is essentially $an allegory o Drance under
the Eichy govern!ent.& Anouilh wrote Antigone in 1.F2 in Einchy GaHi occupied Drance. "hus%
the guards correspond to the ascist colla#orators. 6owever% this is a li!ited interpretation o
Anouilhs Antigone. "he play was censored #y the GaHi ascist dictatorship and surprisingly let it
pass. 'hile Anouilhs play could #e seen as ulti!ate criticis! against the Einchy govern!ent%
the Ier!ans saw the play as a piece o propaganda since it e7plains the !otives o Creon% the
dictator% rationally. Creon had a responsi#ility as leader o "he#es> without such a leader% there
would #e no voice o reason. Si!ilarly% the philosophy and rationale o the GaHis were
supposedly @ustiied ,Bloo!-.
2. Both Sophocless and Anouilhs versions o Antigone addresses the the!e o tragedy.
Anouilhs Antigone addresses the the!e ro! the start o the play. As the Chorus introduces
Antigone% he re!arks% $'hen you na!e is Antigone% there is only one part you can play> and she
will have to plays hers through to the end.& 6e acknowledges that the tragedy has already #een
predeter!ined and the ated characters e7ist to die. "he Chorus paints a clear picture o what he
deines as a tragedy0 $1ou think o a il! without a soundtrack% !ouths agape and no sound
co!ing out o the!% a cla!or that is no !ore than a picture> and you% the victor% already
van:uished% alone in the desert o your silence. "hat is tragedy. "ragedy is clean% it is restul% it is
lawless.& "he Chorus e7plains that tragedy in this play has nothing to do with !elodra!a. 6e
points out that death in a !elodra!a is horri#le #ecause it is $never inevita#le%& while in a
tragedy% $nothing is in dou#t and everyoneBs destiny is known& ,Anouilh-. "he tragic hero ro!
Sophocless Antigone was also doo!ed ro! the start% #ut #ears no responsi#ility or #earing her
law. 3ike Antigone ro! Anouilhs play% Antigone conesses% $( did it. ( dont deny a thing&
,Sophocles l. F.;-. 'hile Antigones actions in Sophocless play could #e easily @ustiied%
understood% and portrayed as virtuous% her actions in Anouilhs play are :uestiona#le. She does
not understand what she is dying or and convinces Creon to kill her. She is ollowing what the
Chorus declared in the introduction o the play and her death #eco!es si!ply a set outco!e o
the play. 6er logic is a !ere atte!pt to @ustiy her death. According to the deinition o tragedy
in Anouilhs Antigone, the play is still a tragedy> likewise% according to Aristotle% Sophocless
Antigone is a tragedy.
'orks Cited
Anouilh% Jean. Antigone. Karis0 "a#le Londe% 1.F/. Krint.
Bloo!% Eictor. MAntigone at the 6ill#erry.M 'e#. <1 +ec. 2<1;.
Nhttp0OOwww.victor#loo!.co!Odetail.php?idP1/52Q.
Sophocles. Antigone. "rans. Lo#ert Dagles.