Notes

Antigone: The Greatest Force
What would you say is the greatest force motivating Antigone in this scene—pride, love, or principle? Explain your response?
According to Greek mythology, Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, a product of incest. This is the curse of her family. Antigone tells us of a play where she must sacrifice her life for what she believes is right. She disobeys the king’s orders in order to bury her brother Polynices. Antigone went through martyrdom after being caught by Creon. She died for Polynices and for Thebes. This is an act of her unconditional love for Polynices.
In Greek culture, you must bury the dead in order for them to rest. Without gold coin on your eyes, you cannot pay Charon, the ferryman to row you across the rivers to Hades. The coin should be placed in the mouth of the decreased. Antigone felt it was her duty to bury Polynices. She is his sister and his closest sibling. She might be the only one willing to disobey Creon since Ismene was afraid to die. Ismene knows the consequences of crossing Creon.
“Scorn, if thou wilt, the eternal laws of Heaven.” Antigone wants Ismene to realize that religious law should always be followed. Creon’s law is contradicting religious laws. This is wrong and all of Thebes needs to realize this! They are blind due to the fact that Creon is “king.” Creon wants to be a strong king that nobody will try to invade. He “strongly” believes that he should always stick to what he said. He developed a stubborn nature as king. In the end, he finally realizes he needs to free Antigone and bury Polynices. In the end, it is too late.
On the other hand, Antigone’s motivation could also be her pride. By definition, pride is Antigone feels a certain sense of pride towards her city. She wants her people to know she saved this city’s future by disobeying Creon’s law. The decreased needs to be buried.