(Enter Ismene, following the exchange with Antigone -- aside)
I fear for my dear sister, Antigone, and her fervor to fight against Creon's will for our dead brother, Polynices. Our family, cursed by our ancestors Laius and Jacosta, carrying the burden of our father Oedipus unto his death. Even now the gods seek recompense in our bloodline for traitorous acts and disobedience to their will. Polynices, our brother and enemy of Thebes: his body left to the carrion birds outside the city gates, and Eteocles, buried in honor to his devotion to the Thebian people by decree of Creon. His command, the command of the King becomes the law of the State, the law that all are bound to. Antigone and I are not free from obedience despite our familial bond to King Creon. His decree to leave Polynices in ignominy, unwept and unburied where he lays, goes against the holiest law of heaven imposed on us by the gods. Although "I do not defy them; I cannot act / Against the State. I am not strong enough" (128). Does Antigone, my beloved "sister, [does she] forget how our father / Perished in shame and misery, his awful sin / Self-proved, blinded by his own self-mutilation?" (128). I do not wish, for any sacrifice of the greatest magnitude, the shame of an execution in defiance of Creon's will for my sister in her pursuit to honor our dead brother. In carrying out the will of the gods, she would surely bring death upon herself, and suffer at the cost of Creon's wrath and provincial stubbornness. After all, "we are women; it is not for us / To fight against men; our rulers are stronger than we, / And we must obey in this, or in worse than this" (128). Our charge in this city is to keep the command of Creon, and the rulers over Thebes. I would take any consequence from the gods to keep my sister alive, her name unscathed and memory free from shame in our loyalty to Polynices.
My heart's greatest desire is for Antigone to "remember those who love [her]... love [her] still" (129), and think on the cost at hand for her conviction to lie beside the brother who died, separated from the city of Thebes, from his family, and from his honor. She has tried to entreat me with reasoning that goes beyond what I can comprehend, her motivations and desperation are alarming. However, "I'll not betray [her] secret" even if "[she] is bound to fail" (129). (exit Ismene)
(Antigone brought to Creon and convicted for burying Polynices, enter Ismene, --aside)
I remember our cursed history, and it seems evident that the suffering did not end with the death of our brothers, but begins again with the law of Creon contravening with the law of the gods. Even upon Antigone's trial in the face of the King at the hands of the sentry, she remains resolute in her convictions. She faces death in payment for her defiance of Creon's law, but seeks reward from the gods for her loyalty to Polynices. But her reward in the grave with our brother is my sorrow, as one more life must be forfeit because of the sins of the King in authority over us. She wants to stand alone, "but I am not ashamed to stand beside [her] / Now in the hour of trial... / The strongest mind / Cannot but break under misfortune's blows" (141). An evil committed, a debt must be paid. If the debt must be Antigone's execution, then I will follow her in love unto death, even if must spend an eternity after crossing over to the gates of Hades. (exit Ismene)
Great Job Mel! Being the bold and strong person you are, I'm sure writing in Ismene's point of view bothered you as much as it bothered me! You did an excellent job of portraying her submissive behavior and also an exceptionally good job with your wording! :)
ReplyDeleteI am proud of you Melanie! I cant just imagine you cringing as you wrote this. I really do feel like you wrote this as Ismene. You are such an amazing writer! Your quotes are also really integrated well into your paragraphs which was hard to do. Super awesome!
ReplyDeleteThis may have been painful to write Mel, but by forcing yourself to consider Ismene's motivations, you came up with a really interesting perspective. I had never considered how shame-ridden Ismene might feel at the start of this play. In the first paragraph, that seems to be the key deterrent for Ismene: she has felt continuously shamed by her family and she is desperate to avoid it. She therefore advises Antigone to refrain from her shameful defiance of the law, and expresses that she would do anything to avoid that, and help Antigone avoid it as well. But after Antigone is on her way to execution, your diction shifted. Suddenly, Ismene was thinking about the reward that Antigone would receive from the gods. Ismene now realizes that, controversial or not, the HONORABLE thing is to honor the gods. That way reaps reward, not shame.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting themes explored, and great writing!
15/15