Conflicting Influences In Sophocles Antigone

Sophocles in Antigone uses Ismene to convey two conflicting influences. Ismene is torn between following the civil law or the divine law, in order to bury Polynices. These two influences illuminate the meaning of Antigone as a whole. Ismene struggles to follow the civil law in order to avoid punishment. Additionally, She tries to change Antigone’s mind about burying Polynices. Ismene loves her sister, and she wants to keep her out of harm’s way. Fearing that she and Antigone were too weak to make a change in society, Ismene refuses to help Antigone bury Polynices. Furthermore, Creon states that he will have vengeance on anyone who dares to bury Polynices. Naturally, Ismene is afraid of Creon’s punishment for disobeying his absolute rule. …show more content…
Furthermore, Antigone dictated that divine law was above the civil law. Antigone believed that Polynices deserved a burial because he fought bravely; the gods would have cursed Thebes if he was not buried properly. In Antigone’s perspective, the God’s laws to mankind were definite because the Gods have supreme power over all mankind. In fact, Creon mandated that his rule was absolute and should be followed with loyalty. Creon was greedy with the power of his position. He wanted to keep order in his city; therefore, when events happened without his control, he loses control of his emotions and makes rash decisions. Additionally, Creon realized his mistakes and buried Polynices body. In the end, Creon understood his mistake of disobeying the Gods. Creon’s realization was similar to Ismene standing up for Antigone and divine law when she was captured. Disobeying the divine law will always lead to devastation in the future. The overall theme of Ismene’s internal conflict is that humans have certain divine rights that override the law of the state. Although the laws of the state help keep order in today’s turbulent world, certain natural rights are given to the citizens to protect their liberty. These rights are endowed to every human at birth and cannot be taken away by the

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