Antigone is a novel where the protagonist of the novel, Antigone, passes the standard in society to do what she believes is right, disregarding the King’s command. Antigone defying the law is the start of the tragic ending of many of the characters of the novel. By looking at this through a psychoanalytic sense, we see the tension between the conscious and subconscious thought, which is important to understand the “why” of the tragedy and how it really unfolds. Conscious is defined as the awake awareness of one’s surroundings. In contrast, the unconscious is defined as a part of the mind that affects behavior and emotions inaccessible to the conscious thought. Particularly essential to this psychoanalytic state is the analysis of ego and
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When looked at through a psychoanalytic sense, we see the tension created between these characters is due to their anticipated roles in society. Specifically, Creon as a king, Haemon as a son, and Antigone as a woman. The real tension is the struggle of the characters trying to stay within their own societal roles, while still fulfilling the roles of their moral compass. This struggle builds up to the anticipated tragedy that Sophocles beautifully writes to show the internal struggles going through each of his main characters. One of the main characters of the novel, Creon, has the internal conflict between the power of the state and the divine gods. However, this power struggle within himself is rooted in the fact that he does not want to be outshone by a woman. His actions and specifically his words are what leads us to believe he is having this internal struggle between divine law and civil law. If he were to side with divine law, then he would be seen as weak and feminine. In reality, the power struggle is bigger than just the civil laws, but also between the role of man and woman in society. His patriarchal nature causes himself to cross unbroken boundaries. First to …show more content…
She is on the opposite side of the tense battle between man and woman in this play. Sophocles uses her to highlight her feminine role in society. While Creon’s battle within himself is about power over morality, her inner battle is morality over her societal role. In the novel, she makes a decision based on what her role would be in the situation given. She subconsciously she follows her moral convictions about the inferiority of man versus the gods. By making this decision, she sacrifices herself to the power hungry patriarchal Creon. We see her conscious understanding of the societal stereotypes, when she accepts her punishment because she knows her role as a woman. Her conscious does not try to cover up her actions that are outside the boundaries of a woman, but instead to help her come to terms with her decision and the after effects. It is also prevalent in the novel that Antigone dies by her own means. Her suicide is important because she is choosing her own fate, not letting a man make the decisions for her. By killing herself, we see again the character traits that gave Antigone the drive to follow her morals in the first place—a full circle of honoring her true ambitions and not following the stereotypes in society. The interaction with her sister Ismene is also notable, because when juxtaposed, we see a passive submissive woman verses an empowered fearless one.
When looked at through a psychoanalytic sense, we see the tension created between these characters is due to their anticipated roles in society. Specifically, Creon as a king, Haemon as a son, and Antigone as a woman. The real tension is the struggle of the characters trying to stay within their own societal roles, while still fulfilling the roles of their moral compass. This struggle builds up to the anticipated tragedy that Sophocles beautifully writes to show the internal struggles going through each of his main characters. One of the main characters of the novel, Creon, has the internal conflict between the power of the state and the divine gods. However, this power struggle within himself is rooted in the fact that he does not want to be outshone by a woman. His actions and specifically his words are what leads us to believe he is having this internal struggle between divine law and civil law. If he were to side with divine law, then he would be seen as weak and feminine. In reality, the power struggle is bigger than just the civil laws, but also between the role of man and woman in society. His patriarchal nature causes himself to cross unbroken boundaries. First to …show more content…
She is on the opposite side of the tense battle between man and woman in this play. Sophocles uses her to highlight her feminine role in society. While Creon’s battle within himself is about power over morality, her inner battle is morality over her societal role. In the novel, she makes a decision based on what her role would be in the situation given. She subconsciously she follows her moral convictions about the inferiority of man versus the gods. By making this decision, she sacrifices herself to the power hungry patriarchal Creon. We see her conscious understanding of the societal stereotypes, when she accepts her punishment because she knows her role as a woman. Her conscious does not try to cover up her actions that are outside the boundaries of a woman, but instead to help her come to terms with her decision and the after effects. It is also prevalent in the novel that Antigone dies by her own means. Her suicide is important because she is choosing her own fate, not letting a man make the decisions for her. By killing herself, we see again the character traits that gave Antigone the drive to follow her morals in the first place—a full circle of honoring her true ambitions and not following the stereotypes in society. The interaction with her sister Ismene is also notable, because when juxtaposed, we see a passive submissive woman verses an empowered fearless one.