Introduction
Sophocles pays great attention to female images: according to his point of view, a woman is a representative of noble humanity. He also dwells on the oppressed position of women in a patriarchal family, and in his tragedies, there are complaints about the female fate. The Greek tragedian manages to express his position in different ways, namely through fear of women and being ruled by the woman in Creon.
Discussion
In the tragedy, one can consider the collision of equally just principles: the interest of the state and the interest of the family, expressed through the feminine principle. Both of them are equally right and at the same time right because of their one-sidedness. Sophocles’ Creon by no means corresponds to the ideal of the sovereign, and by the whole course of the development of the action, Sophocles leads the hero to debunk and deserving retribution. He violated the laws of life and death, feuding with the feminine principle: he condemned the living Antigone to imprisonment in a crypt and refused burial to the dead Polynices (Sophocles, n. d.). For this, in the final, Creon loses the most precious people. Hemon, unable to bear Antigone’s death, stabs himself over her body. The wife of Creon, and the mother of Hemon, also commits suicide at the news of the death of her only son. Creon is depressed by these losses, as well as by the news of the desecration of the sacred altars by the ashes of Polynices. He admits his complete defeat.
Sophocles shows the fallacy of the position of both opponents, Antigone and Creon, that each of them defends a just cause, but defends it unilaterally. From this point of view, Creon is wrong, issuing a decree in the interests of the state that contradicts the unwritten law, but Antigone is wrong, arbitrarily violating the state law in favor of the unwritten (Sophocles, n. d.). The death of Antigone and the unfortunate fate of Creon are the consequences of their one-sided behavior. However, the heroine consciously chooses the path that leads to her death, and the poet approves of this choice, showing how the death of Antigone becomes her victory and entails the defeat of Creon. This interpretation is more consistent with the worldview of Sophocles.
A reference to the feminine principle is the answer to the riddle of the Sphinx, which Creon knows. A man, in infancy, crawls on all fours, then begins to walk on two legs, and in old age, he leans on a stick, which becomes his third leg. While the living Creon looks shamed and spiritually lost, Antigone, going to her death, is full of dignity and inner greatness. For the first time in the drama, an expressive, high image of a woman appeared on her face. This was quite unusual for the drama at first since the Greek woman was forced to lead a purely domestic lifestyle in the female half, and not to give lessons in true citizenship, especially to husbands (Sophocles, n. d.). However, the heroine of Sophocles is also not devoid of purely feminine feelings and moods. They are most fully expressed in her farewell cry. It is not easy for Antigone to go to death, to feel her own defenselessness, the inevitability of torment. She suffers at the thought that she is destined to die young, without knowing the joys of marriage, and the feeling of motherhood.
The chorus saying goodbye to the heroine glorifies her worthy death. The songs of the choir are extremely important for understanding the intent of the tragedy and the correct interpretation of its conflict. The first stasis of the choir is especially widely known, in which the power of a woman and her diverse talents are glorified. They demonstrate how the feminine preside over birth and death, namely, the underworld where Antigone desires to go, claiming that a woman is “the most wonderful thing in the world” and “she can do everything”, the choir makes lengthy enumerations of her achievements (Sophocles, n. d.). The story of Antigone covers the narrative of the whole family, where each representative is waiting for a sad fate. In this myth, the image of a girl becomes a symbol of sacrifice and strength, which does not allow her to go against the laws of morality. Accused and doomed, she looks much more powerful than her punishers. After all, she knows that her conscience is pure before heaven and earth, and therefore she is not even afraid of death. This allows her to rule not only over birth but also over the afterlife.
Conclusion
Thus, with all the triumph of the divine will in the foreground of Sophocles, a woman strives to act independently, and meaningfully, while retaining the ability to be responsible for her actions. Antigone, unlike Creon, is the best of Sophocles’ heroes and, in unfavorable circumstances, strives to do everything possible to fulfill duty and comply with high moral laws and norms.
Also noteworthy is the integrity of Sophocles’ heroes, who in difficult circumstances remain faithful to themselves and the immutability of the best feelings and intentions. All these qualities allow a woman to dominate both birth and death.
Reference
Sophocles. (n. d.). Antigone. Johnstonia. Web.