Antigone: A Misguided Martyr

Sami Johnson

IB English D Period
Ms. Kettle
16 October 2014

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Sami Johnson
Ms. Kettle
English 11 IB
15 October 2014
Antigone: A Misguided Martyr
In the play Antigone, by Sophocles, the character Antigone dies a martyr for the cause of
respecting the gods and her brother. Her motives, however, were arguably less than ideal.
Antigone seemingly buried her brother out of reverence, but underneath that faade lay more
selfish reason. For one, Antigone was always being compared to her fathers negative traits,
despite the many positive ones they shared. Also, no one in the city of Thebes ever paid any
attention to Antigone even though she was betrothed to the kings son. Lastly, due to all the
negative conditions around her, death probably seemed to be more of a reward to Antigone than
a punishment. Desperate for attention and to step out of the shadow of her father, Antigone
buries Polynices for all the wrong reasons, and death, usually a deterrent, serves as nothing less
than a gracious reward.
To begin, the myth of Oedipus was commonly known throughout Greece. Without
having ever heard of the play Oedipus Rex, one would know of his incestuous relations, and hear
of his poor daughter, Antigone. It can be assumed that all the townspeople of Thebes also knew
all about her late father and his agonizing fate. Throughout the play, Antigones actions are
compared to those of Oedipus. When the sentry brings Antigone to Creon after he finds her
burying Polynices, Creon says to her, What shape of your fathers guilt appears in this
(Sophocles 226). He immediately thinks of Oedipus when Antigone does something he deems as

wrong, trying to blame her unfortunate heritage for her mistakes. In response, Antigone says that

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Creon has finally addressed the elephant in the room: the mistakes of her father. As part of her
lament, she states, O Oedipus, father and brother! Your marriage strikes from the grave to
murder mine, (Sophocles 226). Antigone knows that she is being judged in the shadow of her
father. Despite her best attempts, the actions of Oedipus will not leave her. By burying Polynices,
Antigone did one of the few things that Oedipus never would have done. She risked her own
safety and well-being out of reverence for the laws of the gods. Until his final days in Oedipus at
Colonus, Oedipus has little to no respect for the gods. Antigone, by doing something so
drastically different from the typical actions of her infamous father, has possibly hoped to make a
name for herself as Antigone as opposed to Oedipus Daughter. She discovers, however, that
no matter what she does everyone will compare her to Oedipus.
The desire to escape the shadow of Oedipus is derived from Antigones own selfish
desire for attention. When she speaks of her death, nearly all Antigone mentions is the glory and
honor in doing the so-called right thing by burying Polynices. She is wrapped up in what
people will think of her noble death and how she so daringly disobeyed the almighty Creon. As
Creon tells her how much he disapproves of her actions and sentences her to death, Antigone
cannot help but throw in a line about how already she is being admired by the other citizens. She
says, all these men here would praise me, were their lips not frozen shut with fear of you,
(Sophocles 210). This statement, while true, also represents the pride Antigone takes in rallying

the townspeople against Creon. She clearly enjoys the fact that the citizens suddenly took notice
of her and are admiring her strength. When Ismene tries to take some of the blame and stand with
her sister against the tyrant that is persecuting her, Antigone says to her, You shall not lessen
my death by sharing in it, (Sophocles 212). By denying her sisters attempts to be a major part
of the cause as well, it shows how little Antigone actually cares about what she has done. If she

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were truly passionate about respecting the gods, she would invite anyone who wanted to to share
in her fate and help prove the point that the law of the gods is more powerful than that of man.
She, however, blatantly refuses Ismenes offer and goes as far as to show her hubris by stating
that the reason Ismene cannot also be punished is that it would lessen the glory and honor of
Antigones own martyrdom. Toward the end of the play when she is heading to her tomb, one of
Antigones final monologues features the line, Look upon me, friends, and pity me
(Sophocles 225). This emphasizes her desire to cause a reaction in others by her death. She wants

the citizens of Thebes to feel bad for her and to wish they could save her. By evoking powerful
emotions, she ensures that her memory is never forgotten and she will always be known to them
as the girl who was martyred for loving the gods. In her search for attention, Antigone was
surprisingly successful, as demonstrated by Haimon talking to Creon: They say no woman has
ever, so unreasonably, died so shameful a death for a generous act, (Sophocles 218). Haimon is
telling Creon what the citizens are saying about Antigone, which proves the overall success of
her quest for attention. She has finally achieved the noble and memorable death she always
wanted.
On the note of death, life for Antigone was not all too pleasant. Living in the shadow of
the disgrace of her father and also her brother, Antigone did not have much to live for. She was
betrothed to Haimon only because he was the son of Creon, who had become her sort of guardian
after the death of Oedipus. With only Haimon and Ismene left to care for her, life was bleak for
poor Antigone. After her brash comment to Ismene about not stealing the nobility of her death,
Antigone softens. She says to Ismene, Save yourself. I shall not envy you, (Sophocles 213). In
this moment of weakness, the unbreakable Antigone shows her displeasure for life. By saying
that she would not envy Ismene for living, she comes as close as she can to saying she is not

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against dying without actually stating it. Also, when she is made aware once again that she will
die for her crime, Antigone seems again unfazed by the idea of departing from this life. She says,
Surley this is no hardship: Can anyone living, as I live, with evil all about me, think death less
than a friend? (Sophocles 208). In this comment, she truly vocalizes her thoughts. The reader
can infer from the beginning that Antigone is not bothered by the idea of death, but in this
moment she puts voice to those inferences and declares her views. This quotation can be taken in
multiple ways, especially in regards to the aforementioned evil. The evil can be considered the
turmoil of her life; constantly being excluded and judged on her uncontrollable past. The evil
could also be in reference to the dysfunction of a society that dared to go against the laws of the
gods. The interpretation is dependent on the readers view of Antigones character, but no matter
what it clearly represents her willingness to die. If more evidence was needed that Antigone is
unhappy with her life, on page 226 she states, I have been a stranger here in my own land, my
whole life, (Sophocles 226). Having never felt at home, at least in death she could finally be
with Oedipus, the one person who would certainly accept her. While death was presented as the
punishment for burying Polynices, Antigone saw it as merely a reward.
Antigone did the right thing by burying her brother, but she did it not out of reverence for
the gods but for attention, to escape the shadow of her father, and to finally leave her dull and
unappreciated life. In her last hours, Antigone was enthralled by the respect she gained amongst
the citizens of Thebes, and her ego flourished to the point where she asked the people to pity her.
Up until her final moments, however, she is constantly compared to Oedipus and his mistakes. In
the end, the only way to escape the shame of her life is through the reward of death. While she
claimed to be burying Polynices because she wanted to do right by the gods, Antigone had her
own selfish motivations.
Word Count: 1406

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Works Cited
Sophocles. "Antigone." The Oedipus Cycle: An English Version. Trans. Dudley Fitts and Robert
Fitzgerald. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace, 1977. 189-245. Print.