Tara Lago, Period 6, 11/30/22

 Tara Lago, Period 6, 11/30/22, Modern Mythology 2023

Literacy and Learning

After our one lesson about Antigone, I was unsatisfied and dismayed to see that on the syllabus, we were moving on from Antigone’s story to delve deeper into Oedipus Rex, another male tragedy (aren’t there enough already?) I knew there was more to her tragedy than Edith Hamilton’s summary and the one slide of her being “the first rebel feminist.”  So I took it upon myself to analyze Antigone by reading two translated versions of the play. In both, Antigone is front and center, directly challenging Creon from her first breath to her last. Though her obvious feminism dominates the page, she isn’t the only one. 

There’s Ismene, the sister, who according to Edith Hamilton, “disappears.” 

And she’s not wrong. 

When Ismene is mentioned, she is Antigone’s foil. Ismene serves to highlight Antigone’s good qualities–bravery and devotion to her principles—with her negative ones—cowardice and obedience to unfair law. Even at the scene where Ismene confesses to being an accomplice to the crime, Ismene still remains a foil, her change in mindset illustrating her indecision versus Antigone’s decisiveness, rather than character growth. Thus, through this interpretation, the spotlight is on Antigone, poor, courageous Antigone who could have buried her brother, if not for Ismene’s self-internalized misogyny.  

And just like that, Ismene as a sister, as a daughter, and as her own person ceases to exist. Like Jocasta’s story in Oedipus Rex, Ismene’s is deemed irrelevant or simplified in foil terms. 

Yet Ismene is no foil to Antigone, in the ways that count that is. Sure, Ismene is not brave and devout, but it’s because she prioritizes her life and her sister’s life while Antigone prioritizes honor to the point of death. Ismene tells Antigone, “we must be sensible,” since everyone in their immediate family has died tragically. Passionate Antigone responds with harsh words, claiming that she and the dead will hate her for her caution and selfishness. Ismene, in contrast, remains calm and replies, “Then if you must, but rest assured, wild, irrational as you are, my sister, you are truly dear to the ones who love you.” 

“But rest assured.” This phrase was included in Robert Fagles’ translation of the play but not in Fitts’ and Fitzgerald’s translation. And in my opinion, the ambiguity of “rest assured” is crucial. Is Ismene simply emphasizing how dear Antigone is to her? Or is her “rest assured” confirming that Ismene has formulated a plan? 

After reading the scholarly articles “Ismene’s Forced Choice: Sacrifice and Sorority in Sophocles’ Antigone” and “Beyond Antigone: Ismene, Gender, and the Right to Life,” I am convinced it’s the latter question. I believe Ismene did have a plan: the first burial, the burial erroneously credited to Antigone by Creon and many of its subsequent readers. 

By the way the sentry describes it, the first burial is more in the style of Ismene: inconspicuous, anonymous, subtle. Maybe she did this in hopes that it would appease Antigone and keep her safe from making rash decisions. "The deed has been done," she is trying to say. "Honor without death is possible. So live, Antigone. Haven’t we suffered enough?" 

Obviously, her sister disagrees and goes ahead with her burial, a crime committed as “the white round sun whirled in the center of the round sky over us.” She is apprehended and doesn’t deny Creon’s accusations for both burials. Even when Ismene is brought in as a suspect and confesses to the first burial—“I did it, yes”—Antigone rejects it. 

In fact, the argument that plays out in front of Creon is but an extension of the sisters’ first conversation. Ismene has had a change of heart; she’s realized that if she can’t save her sister, then she will join her, if Antigone permits. She tells her, “What do I care for life, cut off from you?” Antigone, at the same time, also has a change of heart. She realizes that her insults from before were petty and careless; now, Antigone wants Ismene to live and responds, “I don’t grudge you, your survival…You are alive, but I belong to Death.” 

In other words, Antigone is apologizing to Ismene and taking full blame for both burials. Since the beginning, she has chosen her route, her tragedy, her hubris of being hardheaded. But Ismene deserves better than to share in her tragedy; she deserves to live, and so Antigone convinces Creon that Ismene is innocent. 

Thus, through this alternate interpretation, Ismene and Antigone are complements of each other. Two sisters. Two burials. Two feminists. Two tragedies. One’s tragedy ends on her terms with her noose. The other’s tragedy is ultimately chosen for her and marked by her helplessness to save anyone that matters. As such, it is neither right to say that Antigone was the one rebel feminist nor is it correct to say that Ismene is a symbol of the status quo. 

They are equals through and through, equal in their sacrifice, tragedy, and sisterly love. 

I wish we delved into this play more because ever since our discussion about Persephone and Hades, I dread going to this class. I am tired of our constant discussions on the plight of women, an issue that I have known since I was a child. At the bare minimum, I want discussions about women having autonomy over their bodies! (Is that so hard to ask? Yes it is.) In an ideal world, maybe it wouldn’t be. Besides English class teaching me about how most imagery is a euphemism for sex, I’ve also learned that our imperfect world is reflected in our imperfect storytellers who tell imperfect stories, in Greece and beyond.

My frustration with mythology wasn’t the only reason why I wrote this blog. I was inspired to write because of the k-drama Twenty-Five Twenty-One. The two main female characters—Na Hee-Do and Ko Yurim—are just like Antigone and Ismene. Na Hee-Do, like Antigone, is the “good” character, who is passionate about fencing and wants to succeed at all costs. Ko Yurim, like Ismene, is the “bad” character, who bullies Na Hee-Do because she needs to maintain her position as top fencer. Naturally, I rooted for the underdog Na Hee-Do as she won against Ko Yurim, completely dismissing Ko Yurim’s motives for her meanness. This is exactly what happens to Ismene’s motives, for centuries thereafter. Later on, I realize that Na Hee-Do’s hardheadedness is her hubris; her ambition to get what she wants leads to her losing her best-friend-turned-boyfriend and eventually contact with her fencing network. Later on, I see that Ko Yurim is so adamant about being the top fencer because she needs the fencing money to support her impoverished family. Ko Yurim and Ismene both have more at stake than honor, for Antigone, or fencing prowess, for Na Hee-Do. 

As the show continues, Ko Yurim and Na Hee-Do become the best of friends and fencers, and it’s here that the parallel with Twenty-Five Twenty-One and Antigone ends. If only Ismene and Antigone had reconciled their differences and compromised on a plan. If they did, maybe they would have had the strength to lift their brother’s body and bury him. Maybe then there would be no tragedy but joy that these two sisters, two heroes lived and won. 

Further Reading

Fagles, Robert, translator. Antigone. Penguin Classics, 1984. 

Fitts, Dudley and Robert Fitzgerald, translator. Antigone. Harcourt, Brace,  1939.

Honig, Bonnie. “ISMENE’S FORCED CHOICE: SACRIFICE AND SORORITY IN SOPHOCLES’ ‘ANTIGONE.’” Arethusa, vol. 44, no. 1, 2011, pp. 29–68. JSTOR, http: jstor.org/stable/44578337. 

Rawlinson. Mary C. “BEYOND ANTIGONE: Is ene, Gender, and the Right to Life.” The Returns of Antigone, 2014, academia.edu, https: academia.edu/43126541/BEYOND_ANTIGONE_Ismene_Gender_and_the_Right_to_Life.