Individual versus State in Antigone

In SophoclesÆ ôAntigone,ö the main theme of the play is the conflict of two different views of the world(that of Antigone and that of Creon(and the contrast between their claims. Antigone eschews the laws of the state by insisting on burial for her brother, Polyneices, who is a traitor to Thebes. In contrast, Creon adheres to the laws of the state by refusing burial for Polyneices. Although these views ostensibly conflict with each other, the case can be made that both are valid.

Essentially, both Antigone and Creon insist on doing what is right; they merely differ in their interpretation of right. Antigone leans to her individual interpretation of right: her belief that according to the gods, her brother must be buried or his decaying flesh will be an offense to the gods. She states:

Nay, be what thou wilt; but I will bury him: well for me to die in doing that. I shall rest, a loved one with him whom I have loved, sinless in my crime; for I owe a longer allegiance to the dead than to the living: in that world I shall abide for ever. But if thou wilt, be guilty of dishonouring laws which the gods have stablished in honour.

Although what she is doing defies the stateÆs laws, Antigone feels justified because she sees the laws of the gods as a higher law. Seeing the non-burial as a violation of the godsÆ wishes, she prefers death to violating those wishes.

Creon, on the other hand, believes that violating the laws of the state i

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ou mayest be taken in these same ills. The most telling interchange occurs directly between Creon and Antigone in reference to the law for which she is being sentenced to death. Creon asks her, ôAnd thou didst indeed dare to transgress that law?ö Antigone responds: Yes; for it was not Zeus that had published me that edict; not such are the laws set among men by the justice who dwells with the gods below; nor deemed I that thy decrees were of such force, that a mortal could override the unwritten and unfailing statues of heaven. For their life is not of to-day or yesterday, but from all time, and no man knows when they were first put forth. In CreonÆs reply is the heart of the conflict between them: ôYea, if thou makest him but equal in honour with the wicked.ö Antigone responds, ôWho knows but this seems blameless in the world below?ö Clearly, both Creon and Antigone are attempting to do what the gods deem is right. However, since neither has any definitive declaration from the gods on what the gods desire, each is attempting to do what seems to be right. There is no absolute edict to follow. And as can be seen from their arguments, they can both support their positions with valid points. Judith Butler explains the co
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Approximate Word count = 1702
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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