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Burial In Sophocles Antigone

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In Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone and her sister Ismenes’s two very conflicting personalities lead to a disagreement over how their brother Polyneices should be buried. While they both believe that their brother should have a proper burial, they disagree on what to do about the lack of the burial. Antigone attempts to convince Ismene to help her break the law to give Polyneices a proper burial. However, Ismene feels that they are not in a position to make a difference. She states, “We are only women, we cannot fight with men, Antigone!” (Prologue.47-48). Ismene believes men to be stronger and more powerful than women. In her opinion, as women, she and Antigone are powerless against Creon’s laws, therefore it would be pointless to attempt to bury …show more content…

In response to Ismene’s refusal, Antigone states, “But I will bury him; and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy” (Prologue.55-56). She feels that not burying Polyneices is a holy crime in itself. Consequently, by breaking the law, she would be preventing a greater crime against the gods and her brother. Antigone is strong-willed and opinionated, as well as willing to stand up for her beliefs. Conversely, Ismene feels that breaking the law, even to do good, is not the right choice. When Antigone accuses her of not caring about the laws of the gods, she replies, “They mean a great deal to me, but I have no strength to break laws that were made for the public good” (Prologue.62-63). Creon’s law comes first, before the laws of the gods, perhaps because of the immediate punishment for disobedience. She is more fearful of the direct consequences of breaking the law rather than being concerned with whether the law is morally right. In contrast, Antigone has little fear of disobeying the law if doing so is a moral decision. Antigone and Ismene’s opposite personalities create tension between the two and make it difficult for them to understand each other’s point of

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