Antigone is a play of balance; it is the balance of ethics and immorality, past and future, light and dark, logic and passion. The art of this timeless play, as many plays that withstand a changing audience, is its ability to put into question the defined. Antigone is clearly a brave character, but is bravery still bravery if motivated by cowardice?
Antigone’s values are so earnestly ingrained in who she is that she is willing to give up her life to protect them. Many may argue that the greatest historical and literary figures have made impacts only from this type of passion. In contrast to her sister’s persona, Ismene characterizes cautious logic, perhaps rooted in fear of an isolation from society that has so plagued her family. Ismene’s mental balance contrasts Antigone’s faith in extreme solutions. However, I question Antigone’s motive. Does Antigone rebel because of her deeply rooted principles? Or, perhaps, Antigone needs to prove to herself the power she holds over her own life, her role in challenging fate—and even the ability to surpass fate, which has been the vulnerability of her lineage.
Antigone refuses to let the scale balance, for she thrives off of controversy. She has succeeded in revolting against Creon’s law by burying her brother, but this does not satisfy her. Antigone buries her brother a second time, during which she is caught. It is at the point that I wonder if she is motivated not by her bravery, but by her self-righteous desire to control her fate. She cannot control the past, and thus, she wishes to control the future. In common with her sister, constant grieving has exhausted her. Antigone wishes to die “honorably” and rest with the ones whom she loves, for she cannot bear living any longer under authority. Ismene too experiences tremendous agony and sorrow over the loss, yet finds the strength to resist the temptation of death. She recognizes that by “giv[ing] in to the law,” she chooses to live. Until Antigone, she is willing to face a “death without honor.” She is not afraid of control.
The idea of control is so frightening yet tempting to Antigone that it ultimately overwhelms her. She, unlike her ancestors, has the power to choose her destiny. She settles on death, which she knows to be, ironically, the safe decision. Living, like Ismene, with the ability of self-control is far too dangerous for Antigone. Instead, Antigone disguises her fear of control in mock bravery. Antigone's internal battle manifests itself in the form of confronting the inadequacies of society. Inadequate as they may be, they nonetheless serve a greater purpose: they provide a stage upon which Antigone can confront herself. Although Antigone preforms beautifully, she masks an insecurity, a fear of leading an honorable life successfully. She fears that she cannot find honor within life, so she searches for it in death. Perhaps it is Ismene, often titled the coward, who is brave, for it is Ismene who is willing to carry the burden of logic over the appeal of passion.
