Toward the end of Antigone’s life, she proposes a good point. ‘And I don’t even know what I am dying for.’ It could be said that if your death promotes not change, then in fact you are dying for no reason. This would have been a feeling felt by many in the resitsance movement, doubting the strength of their actions and how much they could help, Anouilh himself may have felt this. However it was due to those who rose up against the stronger power that the Second World War was won and Hitler was defeated.
The role of Creon could arguably be how as a reflection of Hitler and his regime. As the chance of performing this play depended mainly on the role of leadership and how it was displayed, Creon is described as a caring man, and as if the weight of this leadership is placed upon him and he has no blame. However the audience, at this time, would have hated him as he cares more for the stability of his country or state that of a person’s life, feelings and right to a burial. He is shown to disrespect religion. To Antigone’s reasoning of ‘I owed it to him. Those who are not buried wander eternally’ he replies ‘Polynices was a rebel and a traitor.’ This could show him as heartless to other religions, which could be compared to Hitler’s heartlessness to the right for Jews to worship their own religion.
Although Creon has many traits similar to Hitler’s he is most comparable to the Vichy Government, which governed Southern France during Nazi occupation. They were controlled by the Nazi’s. This is depicted when Creon explains why he cannot say no ‘I should be like the work man that turns down a job that has to be done’ It is this and the statement ‘ someone has to steer the ship’ that caused Anouilh to be accused of being sympathetic to the Vichy regime. The French citizens would have hated the idea of this government and feel betrayed, as Antigone does, by their fellow People. The French citizens would have acceded with Antigone and hated the Vichy Government as they were passive and turned a blind eye to the harm and destruction in the Country. In fact Anouilh’s play was seen as very anti-Vichy and was described as ‘Aware of Anouilh thinly veiled attack on the Vichy Government, the nazi’s censored it upon its release.’1
The French would have found Antigone an admirable character as she struggled against the rules of the ‘harsh regime’ to battle for her beliefs. Also knowing that her struggle may not change anything. However she continues to battle for what she believes in as she refuses to surrender to unjust routine and to sit by and ignore it.
However it was due to those who rose up against the stronger power that the Second World War was won and Hitler was defeated. There is a subtle underlying theme that those who follow the ‘yes’ will end up alone as Creon does in the end. That if you stand back and ignore it you will be the only one left. This is shown in Pastor Niemoller‘s poem first they came for the Jews. He explains that if you do not speak out for others rights there will be no one left to speak out for yours.
We could use the character Ismene to portray the majority of the audience’s situations. They would feel as if they wish for the rules to be different, but feel as if their sacrifice would not change anything and wish to live with what they have. They feel that although sitting back is hard it is a way of surviving.
In conclusion, we can see that this play has major influences from its historical period. The character Creon holds a calm rational place in the play as he could be interpreted-Vichy government- as Hitler and would have to be see in a popular light to be able to be performed. Secondly, the character Antigone could be seen as a heroine or a hindrance to society. She could be interpreted as the latter due to her somewhat selfish actions of holding a belief that has been proven pointless. However an audience would see her, at the time, as the former due to her constant belief in morals and fairness as this is relatable to the Nazi routine. Lastly the audience could relate to Ismene as she, although she believes in Antigone’s position is correct, she remains passive for her family and friends sakes.