IndexAntigone travels in the France of the Second World WarThe minor charactersCreon and Antigone: the conflictJean Anouilh and the differenceThe minor charactersCreon and Antigone: the conflictThe final momentsPoliticsLasting effectsAntigone travels in the France of the Second War worldwideWithout a doubt, the most famous stage version of Antigone is the Greek original. Sophocles first dramatized Antigone's choice and fate, but he was certainly not the only playwright to see that Antigone's story is prime material for social and political themes. Sophocles created a story of Antigone to emphasize Athenian ideals and cultural needs. His Antigone was incredibly popular during Athens' golden age and was reproduced several times. This was a play that strengthened the values ​​of Athenian society in the Golden Age of Pericles. Antigone also manages to transcend the immediate context of Athenian life and appeal to modern audiences around the world. Beyond its straightforward appeal, many modern playwrights have taken Sophocles' original and adapted or reinterpreted it to suit more modern needs. This material is great for conveying political and social messages and had something of a resurgence during the Nazi occupations of World War II. One of the playwrights who benefited from Sophocles' glorious original was the French playwright Jean Anouilh. Anouilh wrote in occupied France during World War II, and the themes of many of his works reflect this controversial and difficult period in history. Anouilh's reinterpretation of Antigone was written in 1942 and produced in 1944. It ran successfully for many months. He translated the original themes and material into something that would appeal to his war-entrenched audience. Sophocles and Anouilh present the same story, but emphasize different themes. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Sophocles emphasizes not only the individual will over the will of the state, but, more importantly, the ancient law of the gods over the will of the state state. Sophocles focuses heavily on the lesson Creon must learn about respecting laws that are more important than those of man. On the other hand, Anouilh pays no attention to the laws of the gods. In fact, the gods and the supernatural are not present at all in Anouilh's Antigone: they are patently missing. Anouilh instead talks about the theme of the absurdity of man's destiny in the universe. Anouilh accentuates the controversy between the rational laws of the state and the individual will of idealism. Creon is not there to learn a lesson, but to highlight the strength and importance of this conflict. These thematic differences are evident throughout the play, but can be seen most clearly in the way the playwrights use minor characters, in the way they treat the climax of the conflict between Creon and Antigone, and in the final moments of each play. In Sophocles' Antigone, the minor characters are, in fact, minor characters. Ismene is primarily used to exemplify Antigone's strength in motivation and independent spirit. Because Ismene refuses to help Antigone in the first place, Antigone denies her the right to claim responsibility after the fact. Antigone is adamant that Ismene remain in her lack of ideals and reclaim her rightful place as a dutiful citizen under Creon. Antigone will not allow her the honor of dying for principles she never had. In this way Ismene functions simply as a foil for Antigone and as an opportunity for Antigone to express the extent of her beliefs. In the samesense, Haemon is used in a purely functional way. He is Antigone's fiancé and is Creon's son. His function is mainly to go to Creon and support Antigone with passion and humanity. He wants his future wife to live. This scene is necessary to show Creon's absolute refusal to listen to any human arguments in favor of Antigone. He is more than stubborn and proud. It takes someone close to him (his son) to truly show the extent of this pride. Sophocles' messengers and watchmen function solely as such, messengers of the action not represented on the stage. Sometimes they become a sort of confidant to Creon, but for the most part they simply exist to report to Creon what is happening outside his field of vision. Unfortunately for Creon, many things happen, both in plot and theme, outside his field of vision. This tends to be the problem with the game. The sentries and messengers mention these thematic ideas that escape even Creon, but they limit themselves to mentioning them. For the most part, they are simply interested in doing their job and then escaping Creon's wrath. For the rest they are purely functional characters. The chorus is, as in most Greek operas, the voice of the people. He is generally only there to comment on the action and provide the audience with an "input" into the themes. He sometimes attempts to take a middle ground, but, as they are meant to be respected elders of Thebes, they often take Creon's side and may even occasionally be seen as "yes-men". When Creon asks them to help him enforce his proclamation: "you must not take the side of those who do not agree," the Chorus responds: "There is no one so foolish as to love his own death" (219- 20). Yet they constantly falter and even attempt to reason with Creon; when the Sentinel brings news that someone has covered Polyneices' body with dust, they immediately worry: "My lord: I wonder, could it be the work of God?/This is the thought that continues to haunt me" (279-80). The Chorus is aware of the mistake Creon may have made, but does little to correct it. They are simply there to reflect the actions and themes. In Antigone's final moments, the chorus serves as her confidant. They try to console her: «Yes, go where the dead are hidden,/ but go with distinction and praise» (817-18) and also to chastise her: «There is a certain respect for piety./ But for those who have authority, / cannot see that authority challenged;/ it is your stubborn temper / that has destroyed you" (872-6). It is not until the final moment of the play when the chorus has the last word and comments on what it has known since always, that it is madness to deny the will of the gods and the will of love. The only minor character who has a deeper function is the blind prophet Tiresias. He is responsible for being the spokesperson of the gods and human reason the gods are not happy with Creon's actions. Resias gives Creon the only real advice he receives in the play: “All men/ can make mistakes; but, once wrong,/ the man is no longer stupid nor cursed/ who, having fallen ill, seeks to cure that evil" (1022-5). Unfortunately, at first Creon is too proud to pay attention to him. He is late fatal. Tiresias must threaten Creon with the prophecy of losing his son before Creon admits that he is "bewildered" (1096). And even then, he still cannot make up his mind to correct his mistake; do to remedy the situation prophesied by Tiresias. He is the only figure of hope in the play. His warnings are heeded too late, but hislessons are learned nonetheless. Creon and Antigone: The Conflict Creon is often theorized as the central character in Sophocles' Antigone, even though he is the title character. Antigone is absent for the last third of the play, which centers on the lesson Creon must, and ultimately learn, learn. The last third of the play has little to do with Antigone, but everything to do with Creon coming to terms with his pride, lack of respect for God and human will, and the consequences of these flaws, what which leads many critics to believe, "Creon is the only tragic fulcrum" (Freeman xxxv). Creon must be the tragic hero, since he is the one who is involved in the elaboration of the tragic process or defect (hamartia) and has the recognition of the discovery (anagnorisis) (Howarth 18). He ignores his status and is arrogant, which are his flaws. He is the ruin. Even the smallest characters (Haemon, Tiresius, Ismene, Eurydice) see the human image and divine purpose before Creon can perceive the truth. On the other hand, Antigone is the epitome of pious righteousness. She is as stubborn as Creon, but because her stubbornness stems from a sense of human and divine right, she is not to blame. His sense of piety and human dignity, along with his strong family ties, demand that he sacrifice himself for his brother's right of burial. While Creon provides some substantial arguments to support his reasoning, the audience sympathizes with and respects Antigone's human will as an example of right living. If Creon is the thematic center of the play, Antigone certainly attracts our sympathetic attention throughout the play. She is the emotional, though not thematic, centerpiece. The point of conflict here is clear. Creon defends the salvation of his state, while Antigone defends the salvation of the human soul and the principle of right living. He creates human laws and rules the state as he knows best, while she follows divine law and human instinct, which is in direct opposition to Creon's human laws. Critic A. J. A. Waldock makes a valid point: "All who matter are for Antigone; all who matter are against Creon. From this only one thing can be deduced: the value represented by Creon is suspect" (qtd. in Howarth 17) . He and his humane laws may garner some logical respect from the public, but they will not garner emotional support from the public. Furthermore, when it is revealed that Antigone broke the law and buried her brother, Creon does not attempt to save Antigone, but simply punishes her. Creon refuses every attempt to ask forgiveness for Antigone. She stands up to him and he sentences her to death: end of story. In Sophocles' Antigone, much more than just human will is at stake. The will of the gods also plays an important role. The gods operate in this play through Antigone. It is the vehicle not only of human empathy, but also of divine dictates and reason. However, their impact has much more to do with Creon than Antigone (Howarth 17). Creon is the man who acts contrary to the will of the gods. Creon is the human who must learn that the laws of the gods surpass any human laws and must be listened to. Antigone's human will and instinct are in line with the will of the gods, which sets her right and gives her the strength to sacrifice herself for the ideal. Creon is at odds with the gods and Antigone's punishment only makes the situation worse. He must learn his lesson before it's too late. Unfortunately Creon does not learn his lesson in time. Tiresias attempts to save him (and, in turn, to save Antigone, Haemon and Eurydice), but his attempt fails. Creon remains stubborn and proud until Tiresias prophesies a threat to Creon's family. Until that time, no notion of "right" can attract the attention ofCreon. Even then, he is still reluctant to give in. After being advised to release Antigone, Creon responds, "Is this really your advice? Would you like me to surrender?" (1102). Because he is unwilling to learn or bend, Creon makes his attempt at salvation too late. He learns the lesson, but it is a harsh lesson of loss, rather than simple salvation through understanding and goodwill. The chorus tells him, "I think you have learned justice, but too late," and Creon replies, "Yes, I have learned it to my bitterness" (1270-1). At the end of the play, the wiser Creon has nowhere to go and no one to turn to. Sophocles has some political importance to convey in this work. The Athenians highly valued order and law in society. In this sense, Creon would have garnered great respect in his attempts to create an orderly and legal state. However, the real message is that although the audience respects Creon, they side with Antigone. It represents the political and social value that Athenians focus on. She is the right life, the human will and, above all, the divine law. These are the values ​​that Sophocles tells us in his version of the myth of Antigone. Jean Anouilh and the difference Jean Anouilh has a very different message in mind. He is not interested in what the gods have to say about life. He is not interested in focusing on Creon's pride and the dilemma of learning his lesson. He is also less interested in exploring who is right. For Anouilh, law matters much less than the meaning and heart of the conflict itself. Anouilh emphasizes conflict, not Antigone's piety or Creon's arrogance or culture. Anouilh takes the myth of Antigone, as dramatized by Sophocles, and changes the focus to suit her message and to adapt to changing times. It uses a nearly identical story, but cleverly changes enough topics to truly change the focus and message of the work. Anouilh admits that he used historical arguments to create the characters he needed to make his point. He is not afraid to change history or the people who lived it to suit his needs. For his play Becket, he admits: "I didn't go looking in the history books for the real Henry II - or even Becket. I created the kind of king I needed and the ambivalent Becket I needed" (qtd. in Freeman xxiv). In this sense, we may be ready for an Antigone that suits her purposes, rather than one that is faithful to Sophocles' depiction. We should be informed to pay attention to what it does differently and why. Anouilh wrote Antigone in a period of classical revival in France. The classics, especially those drawn from mythology, lend themselves well to making indirect comments on modern society "through characters and relationships not tied to a specific context of time or place" (Howarth 8). Anouilh offers an Antigone in which the action of the play is set in ancient Thebes, but where twentieth-century life provides the "metaphorical enrichment" (Howarth 12). He makes some significant changes to the text to provide this "metaphorical enrichment." The Minor Characters One of the changes that Anouilh makes compared to his source is to change the roles of many minor characters. It makes some minor characters much more important, adds important minor characters, and leaves out one significant minor character. For example, in Anouilh's Antigone, Ismene takes on a somewhat stronger role. Its plot is essentially the same, but its thematic purpose is stronger. In Sophocles' Antigone, Ismene is afraid of breaking Creon's law. He fears for his life and is generally afraid of doing something wrong. In Anouilh's version, Ismene is not afraid of the consequences. Instead, he understandsCreon and the reasoning behind his rule. He sees that he is doing what he must do to protect the order of his state. She is depicted as a conformist and a person who respects authority (Freeman xiii), but importantly, she argues with Antigone not out of fear, but out of belief that Creon is right. Anouilh uses this change to shift the focus to the conflict. Haemon is also given a much stronger role in Anouilh's work. Anouilh creates a scene between Antigone and Haemon, which reinforces the audience's understanding of their relationship. We see Antigone as a young bride-to-be, who, for all intents and purposes, desires to be a wife and mother. We see her in a human light, rather than simply as a martyr. This scene also completes the triangular relationship Antigone-Haemon-Creon and makes the conflict of Creon condemning his son's fiancée to death more significant. This is yet another way that Anouilh chooses to shift the emphasis from Creon to the conflict between Antigone and Creon (Howarth 30). Anouilh also creates new characters. In his version, Antigone has her nurse as a confidant. The nurse allows us to see Antigone in a private or domestic light (Howarth 23). Their created relationship develops sympathy for the heroine, as we see her as an innocent and idealistic child figure. This helps to emphasize Anouilh's theme of the pains and hardships of growing up. One of the reasons why Antigone commits a crime with an attached death sentence is because she cannot bear the thought of facing "adult" life which does not allow idealism. Adult life requires a compromise of values ​​and ideals, and Antigone will not live that life. The scenes with the nurse remind us of the fact that she is, in fact, a child of sorts and not the self-righteous martyr we might consider her to be. Anouilh also replaces the messengers and sentries with a host of guards. These guards have a significantly different role than the messengers and sentries they replaced. They represent populous, everyday everyday life. In several instances with the guards, we see Antigone's death (and her worry over it) juxtaposed with the guards' daily, ordinary care (Howarth 36). Guards are generally self-centered about their pay, their worries, and even where they will eat. Antigone spends her last moments with the guard Jonas. After she tells him she's the last person he'll see, he spends several minutes obsessing over the differences in pay and status between being a guardsman and being a sergeant in the regular army. Antigone has to stop him to remind him that he will die soon, and his response is "Of course, people admire a guard more. He is a kind of officer as well as a soldier..." (55) . She makes several more attempts to get him to pay attention, but he never gives her more than a fleeting or indifferent answer about his impending death. It doesn't concern him. Anouilh is interested in demonstrating that Antigone's martyrdom does not matter to the vast majority of the audience. While Anouilh adds importance to some characters and completely adds to others, Tiresias is just missing. This is significant to Anouilh's theme, because Tiresias' disappearance symbolizes the lack of gods and the supernatural in Anouilh's Antigone. The Anouilh phase is not focused on man's disempowerment before the gods or man's persecution by those gods, but on the "conflict between human will and human authority" (Howarth 14). Allowing any supernatural element would only hinder this theme. Tiresias is therefore not there to convince Creon that he was wrong to condemn Antigone to death. There is no one who can save Creon. And, significantly, it doesn't necessarily need saving. Anouilh also changes therole of the Chorus, although, even in his new guise, he does little to function as a replacement for Tiresias. The prologue-chorus of Anouilh's Antigone is detached from most of the action and acts as a sort of omniscient narrator. The Chorus-Prologue addresses the audience, creating a formal distance between the audience and the action of the show. This underlines the theatricality of the work. The work is aware of being a work; it is metatheatrical and self-referential (Freeman xxxvii). In the first scene, the Prologue introduces the characters and depicts them as actors, waiting to assume their roles in the tragedy (Howarth 24). They are shown to play their parts in a predetermined course of action. Anouilh paints a picture of destiny and fatalism. Humans appear to be trapped in a “mechanistic process,” although “there is no indication as to who winds the clock mechanism” (Howarth 35). Man does not have the power to resist this tragic process. According to the refrain of the prologue there is no room for hope or chance. Indeed, in Anouilh's Antigone, the characters refer to "very bad hope". The Prologue-Chorus exists to remind us that this tragedy is predetermined and that there is nothing else to do but live it. Creon and Antigone: the conflict Anouilh offers us a version of Antigone that is structurally much more balanced than that of Sophocles. The first third of the play focuses on Antigone and her ideals, while the final third focuses on reason, order, and the need for life in the state to continue. The comparison between these two ideals occupies the central third of the work, giving it an important and significant place in the work. This is certainly the thematic focus. The first third of the work is dedicated to Antigone, her character and her ideals. She is presented as rebellious, "impulsive and passionate" (Freeman xiii). She does not care that the consequences of her actions and her confrontation with Creon will be death. She "knows that her action makes no sense in practical terms" (Freeman xv), but she must sacrifice herself for her principles. Critic Ted Freeman has developed a controversial theory about Antigone's character and motivations. In the conflict with Creon, he convinces her that one of her arguments is null (the family bond with her brother). She tells the horrible story of her brothers' lives and points out that she doesn't need to be faithful to them. In response to this argument being silent, another argument (or excuse) to challenge Creon almost immediately arises. This leads Creon to believe that, rather than wanting to pursue his ideals, he actually wants to die. Freeman suggests that she is largely the stereotypical modern "unhappy teenager" who wishes to find a way to deny growing up and dealing with the disappointments of adult life. In this theory, she is a suicidal teenager, who devises reasons to end her life (xxxix-xli). He states, “Antigone's seemingly noble cause is insincere, an excuse from an emotionally unstable young woman to spare herself the looming disappointments of adult life” (xliv). He also argues that, in her letter to Haemon, Antigone almost confesses how "easy" it would have been to live and that she is now unsure of what she is dying for. Freeman argues, "in a disturbing moment of inconsistency and perhaps even cowardice that no commentator has grasped, she prevents that truth from being known... [and she] perpetrates a sin of omission, a kind of lie, all her own" ( xiii). This is not necessarily true. Antigone is still given a driven and pure character. Anouilh wishes to make the conflict between Antigone and Creon ambiguous and confusing. If Antigone had simply been portrayed as a suicidal teenager, her arguments could never have been taken seriously. Thistheory goes against the main themes of the work. Antigone is disillusioned about growing up, but not because growing up is disappointing, but because, in this world, growing up requires giving up one's ideals. Antigone is not willing to live in a world without principles and ideals. His noble cause is to attempt to martyr himself for the world he wishes existed. In his letter to Haemon he states how "easy" it would be to live. He doesn't ask himself whether his decision was right or not. “Easy” is not the same as “good.” And then he removes the “uncertainty clause” and replaces it with “I'm sorry”. He dies in his beliefs. Antigone is not an unhappy teenager, but an idealistic young woman who is unwilling to compromise her principles, even when the results are not quite as desired. The character of Creon is also quite different in Anouilh's Antigone. He is not the harsh absolutist presented by Sophocles. This Creon is a realist, not a villain. He sees the explicit need to control the chaos and possible anarchy in his state (Freeman xv). It was a dirty job, but someone had to do it. His harsh rule is justified. In fact, his government isn't even that harsh. Anouilh's Creon would rather hide his problem with Antigone than actually impose his rule. Rather than the evil autocrat created by Sophocles, Anouilh's Creon is "human and sensitive," someone who earns great respect, if not sympathy (Freeman xli). He wishes to save Antigone, not punish her with death. He spends a third of the play arguing with Antigone, not about punishment, but about seeing that she was wrong. He wants her to move on with her life and leave all this alone. But he finds that he is unable to understand her or save her from herself (Howarth 38). Once the die is cast, every challenge leveled at Creon is met with a stern defense of his actions. The Chorus challenges him directly, and he maintains his right. Haemon challenges him, and once again maintains his right. Anouilh's Creon never wavers in his insistence on the right order of the state. The conflict between these two characters occupies a third of the play, a much more prominent position than in Sophocles' version. This illustrates the shift in focus from individuals and their lessons to the actual conflict (Freeman xliv). This conflict pits the experienced realist against the young idealist. There is absolutely no right or wrong here. It is a debate between two rights. In an attempt to persuade Antigone to give in, Creon tells her how horrible her brothers had been and that she should feel no familial (or other) connection to them. This crushes Antigone, and Creon almost manages to persuade her to "fulfill, survive, [and] marry Haemon," but then Creon goes on to mention the word "happiness" (Freeman xvi). With this, all of Antigone's previous beliefs about the right way to live return. She "explodes into a tirade of contempt for all who accept that this conception of happiness can compensate for the diminution of ferocious ideals" (Freeman xlv). This conflict is between the value of reason and the value of ideals. Who can choose between them? The Last Moments Now that the tragedy is over, Creon must continue with his work. There is no rest for the tired. Since Creon has chosen life, even if it is a life without ideals, he must continue in his responsibilities. He seems to feel little remorse or loss, and therefore we feel very little for him. Freeman states, “Creon is affected by the deaths of his son and his wife, but he cannot be held responsible for these catastrophes” (xli). Howarth states that because Teiresias is not there to be the mouthpiece of the Gods, Creon "remains unrepentant to the end" (45). At the end of Sophocles' Antigone, Creon has alesson to learn. He and his pride are responsible for the tragedy, and through this tragedy, he gains wisdom. No such lesson is learned in Anouilh's Antigone. Creon is not responsible. He simply took care of the business at hand. He acknowledges that it was bad business, but says, "You can't just fold your arms and do nothing. They say it's dirty work. But if you don't do it, who will?" (60). He is exonerated from his guilt by responsibility and necessity. Finally, the Chorus makes the last statement, which is very different from Sophocles' Chorus, which gives the audience lasting wisdom. Here the refrain tells us: All those who were supposed to die are dead: those who believed one thing, those who believed the opposite. . . even those who didn't believe anything, but got involved in the story without knowing what was happening. All dead: stiff enough, useless enough, rotten enough. And those who are still alive silently begin to forget them and confuse their names. It's over. . . . A great, sad peace descends on Thebes, and on the empty palace where Creon will begin to await death. Only the guards remain. Everything that happened is indifferent to them. It's none of their business. They continue their card game. (60-1)Anouilh offers no catharsis. Creon is simply left to carry on, just as the guards are left to forget what never mattered to them anyway. Politics The inspiration for Antigone appears to have come from resistance fighter Paul Collette, who, in August 1942, shot into a crowd of collaborationist leaders at a demonstration in Versailles. Although it would seem that this would lead to a sympathetic and resistive reading of the work, the political interpretation has proved controversial. Both sides (collaborationists and resisters) claimed the loyalty of Anouilh's Antigone. French resisters claimed that Antigone was "the embodiment of the spirit of resistance to tyranny" (Freeman xlvi), while Germans and collaborators saw the work very differently. According to Alain Laubreaux, a collaborationist critic, Antigone's spirit of purity was to be admired, but her resistance to authority could only lead to "chaos, disorder and suicide" (qtd. in Freeman xlvii). A fellow collaborationist critic, Charles Mere, found nothing admirable in Antigone. She was a "degenerate and unintelligent madwoman, whose revolt produces only anarchy, disaster and death" (qtd. in Freeman xlvii). These critics believe that Creon is the true hero of the play. He is the just ruler who "sacrifices all that is dear to him for the good of his country" (qtd. in Freeman xlvii). These opposing views are possible because, instead of focusing on who was right, Anouilh chooses to focus on the comparison between realism and idealism, without truly committing to one side or the other. Each character (representing each ideal) is presented with enough sympathy and concept of "rightness" that it's hard to tell who is actually "right." Albert Camus wrote about Anouilh's Antigone: "Antigone is right, but Creon is not wrong" (qtd. in Freeman xiv). We sympathize with Antigone, but we also know that Creon's argument has merit. The work takes a “morally neutral position” (Freeman xlvi). This play centers on the clash between "the individual and the values ​​of the state" (Howarth 15), yet the resolution of this conflict remains somewhat ambiguous. Intellectually, we can side with Creon and the values ​​of the state, while emotionally and sympathetically, we can side with Antigone and individual human values. As E. F. Watling argues, this is the "exhilarating contest between two passionately held principles of law" (qtd. in Howarth 16). Lasting effects While the political atmosphere.