Antigone disregards a clearly-stated law for which the penalty is death, because she considers there to be a higher moral imperative than the law. We may disagree with the ancient Greeks on the specifics, but we can agree that the law is not the greatest authority. One factor that differentiates humans from their cousins is the respect that we accord the dead. Unsurprisingly, Sophocles understood this; Creon's behavior is understandably barbaric. Everyone sees that this is so; thus Sophocles shows that Creon's, the law's, authority is not boundless.
Of course, the Greek concept of justice is pretty screwed up. Oedipus is punished for killing some stranger and marrying a widowed queen after saving her city? If not for that, then he's punished just because some guy made some prophecy? And the gods, who in Antigone are the origin of the righteousness, allow this? It's not just Creon who's inconsistent between the two plays; it's the whole divine side of things as well. Sophocles was making sense with Antigone, but in Oedipus he seems to have taken a completely different stance. It's hard to pass any judgement on either of these works without completely ignoring the other.
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I'm curious about your stance on law and its authority; is the law something we only act in accordance with if it doesn't clash with our ideals? Antigone breaks Creon's silly law because (especially in Greek mythology) a proper burial is more important than almost anything else; the other laws that are "on the books" in Thebes are not broken simply because they are not offensive to anyone's sensibilities? Does their authority stem only from the punishment that will be carried out if the law is broken? Is this what makes Ismene a weaker character than Antigone?
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point that it is better to look at both of these works together, as they do seem quite conflicting in all honesty. Although Creon is inconsistent, readers can only wonder why are the Gods so inconsistent. Sophocles must have been trying to make some kind of point with this. Great writing, Diones!
ReplyDeleteDiones,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that it is impossible not to relate these two works to each other. I do believe however, that the differences in personality and character relate to the experiences and situations the characters are put in. Of course Creon would act differently in both plays because he is in completely different situations.
I do agree with your statement that Creon's actions were "barbaric." To a degree moral action will be superior to law and authority.
Great job!
Yea, the Greeks were kind of screwed up. Lol, no denying that. But if you look at this play with Creon as a tragic hero perhaps in a way as you look at Oedipus as such, it might make a bit more sense. There are others along the way, and that's what makes it a tragedy, but I'm not sure that the two stories are that contradictory.
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