Antigone, like the majority of other Ancient Greek dramas (including it's prequels, Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus), followed the idea that each person has a fixed fate, and that the end result of their fate is impossible to change. However, Antigone interpreted this differently. Antigone emphasized the tenaion between free will and fate, showing how destiny was influenced by people's choices and circumstances. The way that characters' fates play out in Antigone affected how modern literature and media is written. We can see this by examining Kreon's and Antigone's fates, as well as modern writing that pertains to fate in Antigone. In Antigone, fate is malleable. On line 104, Antigone says that Ismene should "steer [her] own fate,"
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She then made her death more dramatic. She wished to make a statement regarding her brother's burial. For this reason, she insisted that she was the one to bury Polynieces, despite knowing that the consequence would be death. She then "hanged" herself "by the neck, a noose made from her linen robe." (1415-1416) We can see from this simple fact that she wished for her death to be caused by her own choices. Simply put, Antigone accepted her fate, death, and used her free will to make her death valuable to her. The effects of this in the text are that Antigone comes about her fate rather painlessly, despite hurting others. This idea can also be seen in modern literature. Oftentimes, a character will only find peace once they accept their inevitable fate. One good example of this is in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in which Harry believes he must die in order to kill Voldemort. In this instance, he finds peace in that he is accepting his inevitable fate, preparing to be killed. Although he does not end up dead, this percieved ending gave him peace. He freely chose to accept his fate, similarly to how Antigone did in …show more content…
Polyneices and his brother, Eteocles, were cursed by Oedipus in that they would both die fighting each other. If her brother Polyneices had not died in rebellion against Eteocles, then he would have been buried in the way that Antigone wanted. However, due to his lack of any form of burial, Antigone felt it was necessary for her to defy the law and bury him. This was the direct cause of her death, and although her death could have occured through any number of means, Polyneices indirectly caused her to make this the reason. From this, we can see that in Antigone, characters were capable of influencing each other's
She then made her death more dramatic. She wished to make a statement regarding her brother's burial. For this reason, she insisted that she was the one to bury Polynieces, despite knowing that the consequence would be death. She then "hanged" herself "by the neck, a noose made from her linen robe." (1415-1416) We can see from this simple fact that she wished for her death to be caused by her own choices. Simply put, Antigone accepted her fate, death, and used her free will to make her death valuable to her. The effects of this in the text are that Antigone comes about her fate rather painlessly, despite hurting others. This idea can also be seen in modern literature. Oftentimes, a character will only find peace once they accept their inevitable fate. One good example of this is in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in which Harry believes he must die in order to kill Voldemort. In this instance, he finds peace in that he is accepting his inevitable fate, preparing to be killed. Although he does not end up dead, this percieved ending gave him peace. He freely chose to accept his fate, similarly to how Antigone did in …show more content…
Polyneices and his brother, Eteocles, were cursed by Oedipus in that they would both die fighting each other. If her brother Polyneices had not died in rebellion against Eteocles, then he would have been buried in the way that Antigone wanted. However, due to his lack of any form of burial, Antigone felt it was necessary for her to defy the law and bury him. This was the direct cause of her death, and although her death could have occured through any number of means, Polyneices indirectly caused her to make this the reason. From this, we can see that in Antigone, characters were capable of influencing each other's