Sophocles' Antigone is a lesson in humility. The main characters Kreon and Antigone fall into a trap of destructive behavior resulting from irrational and prideful ideals. Neither can let go of the strong emotional bonds to their sentiments, and this eventually leads to their downfall. As stated by the Chorus the moral of their actions is, "sound thinking at last in old age."ÃÂ Unfortunately for Antigone, she fails to render sound thought or reach old age. At a mature age Kreon at last sees through his self inflicted ignorance, but for him it comes as too little too late. Antigone and Kreon exemplify defiance of the gods and the abuse of free will.
In the final lines the Chorus summarizes the lesson of the play. The first line is, "Sound thought is by far the foremost rule of happiness."ÃÂ Antigone cannot harbor sound thought due to the emotional roller coaster that she is experiencing.
Nikiforos Lytras, Antigone in front of the dead Po...
Cadmus Sowing the Dragon's teeth, by Maxfield Parr...
Antigone And The Body Of Polynices - Project Guten...Line 78 she states, "I don't dishonor him; but it's impossible for me by nature to defy the citizens."ÃÂ The dilemma of choosing whether to obey her ties to family and undermine the authority of the king, or to follow the king's decree and allow her brother's grave to be desecrated has her thoughts and emotions going on a downward spiral of despair. She resigns herself to the notion that she and her family are cursed, and therefore her situation is hopeless. She collects these feelings in lines 863-868, "Oh doom of a mother's bed, ill-fated mother who slept with her own son, my father! Such was my unhappy birth. To them I go thus cursed, unmarried, to dwell without a home."ÃÂ The Chorus continues its statement with, "when we deal with gods we should never act with irreverence."ÃÂ This message is intended directly for...