Antigone’s Character as describe by Aristotle’s Possession of Virtues
In Sophocles’ tragedy, “Antigone,” the title character could be seen as fulfilling Aristotle’s three criteria for a virtuous action as he lays them out in Book II of the Nicomachean Ethics. Antigone does, apparently, know how to perform the correct burial rituals (thereby fulfilling the first criterion), she clearly chooses the action and chooses it for the sake of her brother (which seems to cover the second criterion), and, given that the text tells us that she has performed burial rights for all of her other deceased family members and that she seems to be consistently passionate about burying Polynices , she would appear to be doing it from, as the third criterion states, “a firm and unchangeable character” (Bk. II, Ch. 4, par. 2). However, given certain of her statements in the last few speeches that she makes in the play, one could also make the case that she does not, in fact, fulfill the last of these three criteria and, consequently, does not really act in what Aristotle would consider a virtuous manner, after all.
In order to establish this claim, …show more content…
And even if I die in the act, that death will be a glory. (63) Antigone knows that death is her punishment she is getting by disobeying the laws of gods, yet she is not afraid of it. She shows braveness in her decision to bury Polynices even it is against the will of people and the laws of gods. She firmly believes that her death will be glorious because she is burying her own brother just like a martyr will die for her strong ideals. Why would Antigone dishonoring the laws of gods, when the laws are believed to be created by gods. She thinks that if the law of gods is not allowing a sister to disrespect and disregard her dead brother’s body by letting the corpse lay in the open air untouched while eaten by some animals including dogs and birds, Antigone reprimand to her sister that she is dishonoring the laws of
In Sophocles’ tragedy, “Antigone,” the title character could be seen as fulfilling Aristotle’s three criteria for a virtuous action as he lays them out in Book II of the Nicomachean Ethics. Antigone does, apparently, know how to perform the correct burial rituals (thereby fulfilling the first criterion), she clearly chooses the action and chooses it for the sake of her brother (which seems to cover the second criterion), and, given that the text tells us that she has performed burial rights for all of her other deceased family members and that she seems to be consistently passionate about burying Polynices , she would appear to be doing it from, as the third criterion states, “a firm and unchangeable character” (Bk. II, Ch. 4, par. 2). However, given certain of her statements in the last few speeches that she makes in the play, one could also make the case that she does not, in fact, fulfill the last of these three criteria and, consequently, does not really act in what Aristotle would consider a virtuous manner, after all.
In order to establish this claim, …show more content…
And even if I die in the act, that death will be a glory. (63) Antigone knows that death is her punishment she is getting by disobeying the laws of gods, yet she is not afraid of it. She shows braveness in her decision to bury Polynices even it is against the will of people and the laws of gods. She firmly believes that her death will be glorious because she is burying her own brother just like a martyr will die for her strong ideals. Why would Antigone dishonoring the laws of gods, when the laws are believed to be created by gods. She thinks that if the law of gods is not allowing a sister to disrespect and disregard her dead brother’s body by letting the corpse lay in the open air untouched while eaten by some animals including dogs and birds, Antigone reprimand to her sister that she is dishonoring the laws of