Antigon presents many character traits, two of which are hubris and determination.
Antigonê
In the Greek drama Antigonê, by Sophocles, the protagonist Antigonê is involved in a conflict with her uncle Creon, the King of Thebes, which results in a tragedy. Throughout this devastating drama, Antigonê presents many character traits, two of which are hubris and determination. Her personality and actions not only lead to her own downfall, but to the downfall of the rest of the other characters as well.
Hubris can be described as foolish pride and arrogance, which makes one feel that he or she is above others, often leading to one's downfall. Antigonê's hubris is evident in many scenes throughout the drama. The cause of her pride was the issuing of Creon's edict, which Antigonê believes is morally wrong. An example of her hubris would be in Antigone's conversation with Ismene,
"Antigonê: No, justice will not suffer you to do that; you did not consent to the deed, nor did I give you part in it.
Ismene: But now that ills beset you I'm not ashamed to sail the sea of trouble at your side
Antigonê: Whose the deed was, Hades and the dead are witnesses; a friend in words is not the friend that I love
Ismene: Nay, sister, reject me not, but let me die with you, and duly honor the dead
Antigonê: Do not share my death nor claim deeds to which you have not put your hand my death will suffice" (Sophocles 93-94).
Antigonê does not want Ismene to share the death sentence. She is too proud of what she has done, and wants everyone to recognize that she alone was brave and courageous enough to ...
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Antigonê: Whose the deed was, Hades and the dead are witnesses; a friend in words is not the friend that I love
Ismene: Nay, sister, reject me not, but let me die with you, and duly honor the dead
Antigonê: Do not share my death nor claim deeds to which you have not put your hand my death will suffice" (Sophocles 93-94).
Antigonê does not want Ismene to share the death sentence. She is too proud of what she has done, and wants everyone to recognize that she alone was brave and courageous enough to give her brother, Polyneices, a proper burial. She is too stubborn to see that Ismene feels sorry for abandoning her in the beginning, and wants to take the blame. Therefore, Ismene is just pushed away. Also, the following excerpt written by the critic Eliot, supports the hubristic personality of Antigonê,
"...while both are also conscious that, in following out one principle, they are laying themselves open to just blame for the transgressing another and it is this consciousness which secretly heightens the exasperation of Creon and the defiant hardness of Antigoné" (Eliot 311). Eliot argues that Antigonê's hubris is fueled in a way by Creon's hubris, and vice versa. Antigonê wants Creon to give in to the fact that she is right for giving Polyneices a proper burial, while Creon argues that Polyneices didn't deserve one. The two never reach an agreement because of their pompous obstinateness. Antigonê is too proud of what she has done, blinded by her boastful actions. Her actions and speech illustrate that she is above Creon in everyway. These examples portray how Antigonê's hubristic personality permeates throughout this Greek drama.
Another character trait of Antigonê that pervades through the tragic drama is determination. This is illustrated in the opening of the drama, during a conversation between Antigonê and Ismene,
"Ismene: You would bury him when it is forbidden to Thebes?
Antigonê: I will do my part-and yours, if you will not-to a brother. False to
him I will never be found...
Antigonê: ...Be what you will, I will bury him; well for me to die in doing so. I shall rest, a loves one with in whom I have loved" (Sophocles 83-84),
Antigonê is fully committed to burying Polyneices, and will not let Ismene or anything else stop her. Antigonê clearly follows the divine law of the Gods. She believes that every warrior should have a proper burial, and that the divine law comes before the state law. Therefore, her morals on life strengthen and fuel her determination for the deed that she commits later. Another example of Antigone's determination by the critic Krstovic is illustrated in the following,
"She has a duty to perform, in obedience to the voice of conscience, and she follows it out, with an unfaltering purpose, to its terrible consequences. She blends the softest affections of the woman, with sacred principles and unshaken honor" (Krstovic 304). This criticism shows that to Antigonê, the duty to bury Polyneices was a must-do. She loves him as much as she loves Eteocles, and will do anything, even suffer the consequences, to make sure her duty was carried out. Antigonê soft side also strengthens her determination, because if she didn't love Polyneices like a brother, she might not have given him the burial. These actions and feelings of Antigonê contribute to her character trait of being determined.
Even though Antigonê knows she will face death for her deed, she fully commits to burying Polyneices. Therefore, she is obstinate and courageous in her ways, opposing King Creon and standing up to him. Two of her character traits portrayed in the drama are hubris and determination. A conclusion about human nature can be drawn from this Greek tragedy, that foolish pride leads to ones downfall.
