Mankind is often found guilty of overstepping his boundaries. He justifies arrogance, pride, and recklessness by associating these tragic character flaws with the heroism of adventurousness, authority, and courage. But not all men are bound by the same definition of immorality, or pride, or imprudence. Not all men are homogeneously identified with the same methods of wrongdoing. However, the story of Antigone illustrates the single most universal folly of all men and women, and that is mankind’s strong tendency towards the extremes.
We have Antigone, and we have Creon.
Antigone embodies the image of a strong-willed female unbound by the constraints of ancient Greece’s social mores—an individual so driven by a personal code of morality and integrity that she is able to consciously defy the word of ancient Greece’s highest royal order. Yet she is so strong in her convictions that she seems to give off an arrogant, “holier than thou” attitude. She not only criticizes but also rejects Ismene’s unwillingness to accompany her in her mission to bury Polyneices, even though Ismene agrees to keep her secret. This criticism illustrates a certain haughtiness about Antigone—one that denotes that if the level of your passionate morality and courageous defiance is not equal to that of Antigone, you are not truly moral, nor courageous, nor passionate, nor defiant. And that is where Antigone oversteps her boundaries as a mere mortal—she is in no position to be passing judgment upon the decisions of others, especially not those who are attempting to maintain a certain level of balance in their respect for both personal and social morals. One may even argue that Antigone’s foolish boldness and pretentiousness—her tragic character flaws—ultimately determined her grim fate.
Creon, on the other hand, embodies a rather polar image. Rather than signifying a man whose character and morality are based upon personal ethics, Creon chooses to uphold values that are more important in his eyes: authoritative power and the reputation of his country. His decision to deny Polyneices proper burial rights is immoral by not only religious values but also by intuitive ethics. Creon’s rejection of these values indicates that he is fearless as to the repercussions of his actions—he does not fear the wrath of the gods and goes so far as to accuse the oracle of being corrupt and rejecting his word as well. Creon is thus unable to find a definitive middle ground between the maintenance of a respectable/powerful rule and the maintenance of personal morality for its own sake. Of course, this conceitedness comes full circle, taking the lives of both his wife and his son.
A major theme of most ancient Greek literature is the concept of a Golden Mean, which is defined as the desirable middle of two extremes, one of excess and one of deficiency. Neither Antigone nor Creon is able to locate this Golden Mean, and I am forced to wonder whether or not that inability to find the Golden Mean was the single-most crucial factor that led to their respective downfalls.
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12 comments:
Great job! I'm really glad you pointed out the idea of the golden mean -- I hadn't considered that aspect of the play. You make a very good point -- there is a real element of polarization among the characters. Creon and Antigone demonstrate complete authority and bold individuality respectively, but there is no (sympathetic) character who can balance the two. Ismene tries, but because she is so uncertain about what to do, we feel that she isn't really doing the right thing either.
Ayten! I really like the points that you made, especially how you related the story of Antigone to what you know about Greek mythology and philosophy as a whole. I think that Ismene struggles to find the Golden Mean, and she ultimately fails to do so. And I also think that what Choragos says at the end warns of seeing the world as black and white, just as you do in your blog entry. Nice job! I give it an A.
Ayten, you are such a great writer. I definitely agree with your assessment of Antigone and Creon as relatively one-dimensional extremes that ultimately cannot succeed because they refuse to find a balance between their personal and moral duties. That was really clever of you to bring up the golden mean idea; i would never have thought of that, but it works really well in relation to this story. Awesome job!
I like your... let's call it a hypothesis, at the end of your blog that Antigone and Creon were ultimately brought down due to their extremism, because realistically speaking, even if you loose power or die from one specific event, it is most likely the other past events in your life that brought on this one specific event. Nice connection to the Golden Mean of Greek literature in general.
Ayten, this is an extraordinary blog! Your argument is well organized and thought-out. You made some insightful points. I very much enjoyed reading this blog. I agree with your assertion that hubris is the cause of Creon and Antigone's downfall. Furthermore, Haiman and Eurydice are also extreme beings as they are both driven to suicide. I would also add that Antigone's extreme nature led to her hanging rather than simply wait to die of starvation. Hanging is much more extreme than starvation, I think--but I'm not an expert. Don't quote me.
Anyway, great blog!
Most excellent, I like your analysis of the Greek idea of the Golden Mean.
Fascinating.
Well, I personally think that a golden rubber would have when the most wise/stylish choice. But that's just me. I'm not sure that Oedipus was the type to only hit third base. He's most definitely a man's man home runner.
Great blog! I really enjoyed your inclusion of the ideas of the golden mean and polarization! I never would thought about that! Such a genius you are! I totally agree that their stubborn one-sidedness was in the end their tragic flaw! And your evidence was very convincing! In all, spot on!
Here I am. Hopping on the Ayten's Blog Comment Bandwagon. But hey, the ride's smooth and it's always a party.
As others before have pointed out, your insight into Antigone and the golden mean was innovative and illumiating.
But really, Mark Zhang's comments are the kickers.
Fascinating.
ETF
Tiberius, I "eleventh" that. Excellent blog, Ayten. I really liked the way your concretely laid out your argument in a clear and focused manner that was easy to understand and interpret. Furthermore, your opinion into the character flaws of the two protagonists (or antagonists, you're choice I guess) is something I really did not notice, but is very insightful and obvious once you pointed it out. Great job.
Ten--you've got plenty of rave reviews, so I'll keep mine short and say that I think Sophocles agrees with you. At one point, Choragos says to Antigone,"natures like yours are hardest on themselves," by which I think he means people whose strength and passions are such that they become inflexible, incapable of bending even slightly to accommodate the world around them, certain theirs is the only way to act, think, or be. Such people can be admirable, but frankly, they've always made me nervous.
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