In the play Antigone by Sophocles, Ismene is shown to be in great contrast to Antigone, who is her sister. She is portrayed as a gentle and passive while Antigone is depicted as an aggressive and headstrong woman. In the prologue, Antigone and Ismene are shown discussing what has transpired since their leave and subsequent return to Thebes. In this scene Antigone asks her sister in line 6-7 “have they told you of the new decree by our King Creon?” which Ismene then responds that “I have learned nothing. I know that two sisters lost two brothers, a double death in a single hour, and I know that the Argive army fled in the night; but beyond this, nothing” (Sophocles 0:7-9).…
Antigone was full of hubris, she was very independent, she stands up on what she believes in. As for Ismene she was timid, follows the rules, she was also intimidated by her uncle Creon. When their two brothers died one was buried with “honor” but Polynecies wasn’t. Antigone fought for her brothers’ buriel and she also declared that she would die for him. Antigone quoted “ But I will bury him, and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy. I shall lie down with him in death.” This displays that she is willing to take a risk for her brother even though if she dies. Ismene is a coward when her uncle questioned her and she follows the…
Antigone and Ismene also show different characteristics in the story. Firstly, Antigone is strong, loyal, kind, and determined. She is determined and strong because she went alone to bury her brother Polyneices. She went to bury Polyneices because she said that he deserves it and she didn't want her brother to rot and be eaten by the ants. Secondly, Ismene is timid and follows the rules. For example, when Antigone asked her if she would come and help her bury their brother Ismene immediately said no. That shows that she follows the rules…
To start with, Antigone’s femininity is something that surprises Creon. During the period that Antigone was written in, women were treated of lower class than men. Creon does not expect a woman to defy a man in power, as this has never happened in his time before. Women are expected to bow down to men. Ismene is shown to follow this rule. She is an example of a stereotypical women in Ancient Greek times, as shown when she says “We are only women, / We cannot fight with men, Antigone! / The law is strong, we must give in to the law / In this thing, and in worse. I beg the Dead / To forgive me, but I am…
Despite what or who Polyneices was fighting for or against, Antigone feels that he should be honored for the simple fact that he her “blood brother”. Due to such a strong belief that the Creon’s law is wrong and unethical. Antigone even insisted that her sister Ismene was kind of like a traitor because using her her logical judgement of cause and effect she could not bring herself to agreement with Antigones plan. Ismene knew that if she would help in the criminal act of burying her brother, she would be sentenced to death and death was not what she hoped…
Ismene serves as a foil for Antigone; she is the “compliant citizen” to her sister’s “conscientious objector.” While she is loyal and willing to die at her sister’s side, she does not make the same bold, defiant stand that Antigone does. She is a reasonable, sympathetic person whose fate is tied to the far more fanatical Antigone and Creon. The thought of death at Creon’s hands that so terrifies Ismene does not even faze Antigone, who looks forward to the glory of dying for her brother. Antigone refused to let her be martyred for a cause she did not stand up for. She even seems to forget her sister exists, calling herself the 'last descendant of Oedipus. The relationship between Antigone and Ismene evokes a wide range of emotions and insight that helps to illuminates due to their district characters and qualities.…
5.) Ismene is the foil for her stronger sister. In comparison to Antigone she has almost no agency, primarily because she is terrified of disobeying men in power.…
Antigone clearly wanted to bury Polyneices so that he should have a peaceful afterlife. Wanting to do this, she would be breaking Creon’s law saying that no one should bury the man who went against his own city and brother. Even though Antigone would be breaking the law, her intentions were still appropriate in the situation. Contrary to Antigone, Ismene refused to bury her brother when the option came about, also due to Creon’s law, except here, she wanted to follow the law. Ismene also has good intentions for her brother, but she wanted to follow the law because her life was more important to her than her own brother’s…
Sophocles creates a strong sense of devotion and resolve through her actions as she is seen as a martyr for her cause. Antigone follows what is just in the world that Sophocles creates. He does not reflect that same quality in his portrayal of Ismene. Ismene is more fearful of Creon’s laws, she holds reverence towards her brothers, but is not as eager as Antigone to sacrifice herself to uphold a divine law. This is shown when she responds to Antigone’s call to action, “We are only women, We cannot fight with men, Antigone! The law is strong, we must give in to the law” (191-192). In her response Ismene expresses her lack of strength and fear, Sophocles portrays her as less righteous than Antigone. Although Ismene later retracts her refusal, Sophocles still frames this act in relation to Antigone. The nobility in Antigone’s conviction to the law of the gods is further shown through Ismene’s change of…
Compared with her sister, Antigone seems unruly and passionate about her struggle. Antigone is the opposite of Ismene, being slender and outspoken. She refuses to obey Creon, who is not only a man, but also her king, her uncle, and her future father-in-law. It is possible that she choose to take a stand against Creon simply because he symbolizes everything that would block a feminist from progressing as a woman in Thebes. Antigone is essentially battling against a symbolic figure that modern-day feminists have been battling against for years. Without the support of her sister, Antigone decides to march on…
The well-known play, Antigone, is a representation of classic tragedy written by Sophocles. The story’s protagonist, Antigone, is portrayed as a tragic hero whose efforts to keep her family close quickly backfire on her. When Antigone’s brother dies, she wants to face the consequences and do the right thing in order to respect her brother and properly bury him. Antigone’s sister, Ismene, also displays the heroic qualities that Antigone does when she attempts to save her sister for being prosecuted. The classic qualities of a tragedy are displayed in the story, and these can also be found in many other tragedies later in literature. The important qualities that a tragedy always has can help analyze other novels and stories later are the heroism of the protagonist and the emotional connection the audience will sympathize for the protagonist.…
In Antigone and The Odyssey, women are portrayed as insignificant characters to show the quintessential role of Greek women. In Antigone, Ismene is shown as the ideal woman in Ancient Thebes when she chooses law over family by leaving her brother unburied, no matter how offensive it is to the gods. Ismene chose to leave her brother unburied rather than face the rule of Creon, the king, which supports the Greek vision of lawful women. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus’s…
Ismene’s view of life is biologically impacted. Although she loves her brother, Polyneices, it is against the law to bury him according to Creon. Creon having set law that anyone to touch the corpse to be stoned to death publically causes Ismene’s view of life to become a problem. With her and Antigone being the last two members alive within the family, they must stay alive to continue the family bloodline.…
Antigone is an award winning play by Sophocles, one of the three best Greek dramatists of all time. Antigone is a mythical princess of Thebes. She is the product of the accidental incestuous marriage between King Oedipus and Jocasta, whom is Oedipus’ mother as well. Antigone had two brothers and a sister: Polynices, Eteocles, and her sister, Ismene. After Oedipus discovered that he had married his mother, he fled, leaving Thebes to be ruled by his sons. Polynices and Eteocles had their differences arguing over the throne. Polynices left Thebes and returned with an army to declare war on Thebes. The two brothers killed each other during the war, leaving Thebes to be ruled by Jocasta’s brother Creon,…
Due to the previous actions of Oedipus had lead his family to have a curse, and now it is has reflected onto his children. The first conversation of the play is between Ismene and her sister Antigone and we see that they both discuss the “heavy hand of god is upon us” that has been placed on their family. Antigone wants to change the town’s people’s minds on how they see and think of their family by trying to do the right thing by the God’s and have a burial for her brother Polyneices like everyone at that point in history should have been. Sophocles tries to persuade the readers by making the prologue of the play the conversation between the two sisters by showing us that Antigone is doing the right thing by wanting the burial to take place and he always shows how Ismene is a perfect example of the role and attitude of many of the women in ancient Greece “we are women; it’s not for us to fight against men” and showing that she is afraid to do anything in case she is looked at by people like her father was. Whilst Antigone was wandering city to city with her father Oedipus she…