Running Head: ANTIGONE 1

Antigone

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Institution Affiliation

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Antigone

Antigone is a logic and a philosophical play written by Sophocles. The play is

portrayed to be among the most prominent explanation of tragic drama. The main

characters in the play are Antigone and Creon, who have different ideologies and

opinions in regard to human and divine law (Sophocles, 2019). Hegel's interpretation of

Antigone's play by Sophocles seeks to understand the responsibility of a woman in the

Hegel system. Hegel interprets the woman's role both philosophically and spectacularly,

showing an ethical woman's life in the family. Although Hegel portrays the difference

between the present and ancient womanhood figures, he reveals Antigone as an example

of women and their responsibility in a family. Hegel, through his analysis, turns out to be

a person who criticizes the right doings.

Hegel portrays a woman as a person who has ethics in the family, as shown in the

Antigone play. Antigone was very aware of the consequences he would face by planning

to bury her brother Polyneices. Although she follows through the plan, her acts do not

portray disobedience to King Cleon's human law. Antigone does not have any problem

disobeying the law of the Gods. By him burying her brother, who is a member of his

family meant that he is just going against the law of the Gods (Brown, 2016).

Additionally, Antigone neglects the law of the land known as Olympian justice, which is

also responsible for presiding over the outlined laws for the purpose of attaining a

civilized life (Sc1 Ln172). Antigone possesses firm beliefs, ethical rights, and moral

values, which make him go ahead and bury his brother Polyneices yet he was aware that

he would face consequences that may need him to sacrifice his own life (Sc1 Ln 65).

Antigone defies the human coercion and obeys the divine law when he rejects and gives
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up his own life. According to her, it is illogical, just the things that always live (Sc1 Ln

64). Antigone regards divine law more than human laws. She has a strong view of the

value and morals of the Gods-set laws. Although she ought to have let God's verdict

prevail, she was right, and she meant no bad by burying her brother. As the play ends,

Antigone is forgiven for having buried her brother Polyneices unlawfully, as stated by the

Creon law. However, she dies, and the people around her also die (Sc1 Ln 63). King

Creon law had stated that no one was allowed to bury Polyneices, for he was a traitor.

The tragedy experienced in the play makes it the most influential in having ever been

written in Greek. An article in feminist ethics states that women are both ethical, creative,

and critical in action (Miller, 2017). Since the article and the play agree in the ethical

aspect of women, it upholds the Hegel philosophical argument on women in a family

(Farneth, 2020). 

Hegel uses Creon to understand and interpret tragedy and punishment that comes

with correction and moral imbalance (Russon, 2016). There is a distorted view of reality

when Creon follows the laws, yet he ends up losing the people around him in favor of the

evil acts against Antigone. Creon, with his laws, seems content with his actions, although

according to divine law, his actions were not morally upright. It is the laws that Creon

had set in his community that led to him sentencing Antigone to death after he broke

them by burying her brother. Creon did not bother to consider the reasons why Antigone

had to break the law; rather, he stood strong in his law grounds without proper

understanding. Creon's act of sentencing Antigone to death was an act of stubbornness

(Sc1 Ln 63). In the play, in regards to right and wrong, Sophocles wanted the reader to

see or think that Antigone did the right thing while Creon was wrong as per the unwritten
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laws of God. A blind prophet by the name Teiresias visits King Creon towards the end of

the play. He informs Creon that His action will have consequences that will affect him.

Further, he said that Creon would pay for his deeds against Antigone and Polyneices.

Eventually, Creon tries to undo his deeds, which portrays his redemption to The Gods (Sc

1 Ln 169). He seems to understand the danger of putting everything at stake just for his

pride and stubbornness. He freed Antigone from the vault and erected a tomb for

Polyneices. As this was happening, His son Haemon together with his wife Eurydice,

took their own lives, leaving Creon alone without anyone around him. This is similar to

an article on neoclassical realism and structural realism concept, which states and

explains the significance of logic in an anarchy logic (Smith, 2019). Since both the article

and the play acknowledge the need for applying logic to solve problems, then Hegel's

philosophy is maintained.

Although there existed conflict for both Antigone and Creon, Antigone seems to

be more rigid and principled to his morals and values when she goes ahead and gives her

brother a proper burial despite the stated Creon's human law (Sophocles 2019). In the

play and in the actual life, a point of understanding should be drawn where a human and

divine law conflicts as this is a common scenario by which human beings find themselves

and are required to make a noble decision. Personally, I believe and acknowledge the

wise laws set by individuals should be used as a guide to them when still upholding the

divine law as they are both important. In case a conflict of both occur, one should weigh

and take sides accordingly. The play shows and interprets human thinking and actions in

day to day lives.

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References

Miller, S. (2017). Feminist Ethics.

Smith, K. (2019). Recollecting a lost dialogue: Structural Realism meets neoclassical

realism. International Relations, 33(3), 494-513.

Russon, John. “Reading and the Body in Hegel.” CLIO 22.4 (1993): 321. Literature

Resource

Center. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.

Farneth, M. (2020). Hegel's social ethics: religion, conflict, and rituals of reconciliation.

Princeton University Press.

Brown, A. (2016). Antigone (1). In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics.

Sophocles (2019). Antigone. Literature for Writing: A Reader for Comp II. 3 rd ed.

Cengage, 2019.