Antigone 23 In the State will collapse. I will not have that! There will he no exchanging of roles here, Me playing the woman while she plays the king! She is my niece, my sister's Child. But I am the law. And that responsibility ls ahove kinship. Were she even closer, The closest, my own daughter, my duty Would he plain. The law has its weapons, And they will strike, at her, And at her sister too her accomplice, I've no doubt. in this illegal net \"o the full extent of the punishment proscribed. 'he other one, Ismene, bring her here. I saw her in the corridor, talking to herself And sobbing emotionally, like a madwoman! Guilty consciences, you see, can never be hidden Completely, the human face reveals Conspiracies before they are enacted Again and again. But there is nothing lVlore disgusting than the confessed criminal Who tries to justify his actions. As this woman has done here today. AN'l'lGONE. What more do you want? Kill me, and have done with it. CREON. Nothing more than your death. That'll he enough. ANTIGUNE. Then what are you waiting for? Nothing you say Will he of the slightest interest to me, And my arguments you will not listen to. I've done what I said I'd do. I've buried my brother. I aspire to no greater honour, and if I am to be famous, let it be for that. All these, these senators of yoursV They all agree with me in their hearts. But there is no gag like terror, is there Gentlemen? And tyrants must have their way, Both in word and action, that's their privilege! emote. You are quite mistaken. None of the The-bans Anywhere in the city, thinks as you do. ANTIGONE, They all do! But they keep their mouths shut when you're here! (JRliUN. Not at all! And you should he ashamed Setting yourself up against the majority, 24 Antigone Disregarding the Will of the people! AN'rIGONE. I love my brother. I honour him dead As I loved him living. There's no shame in that. CRhON. And the one he murdered? Wasn't he your brother? ANTIGONE. My mother hore them both, and I loved them both, CREON. If you honour one, you insult the other. AN'I'IGONIE, Neither of those dead men would say that, (IRl-ZUN, Eteoeles would. His brother was a traitor. Does he merit no greater respect than that? AN'l'IGONE. But he was not an animal. They both died Together. And they were both men. (:ltmm. Yes, and the one died defending his country While the other traitorously attacked it! ANTIGoNE, The dead have their rights, and we have our duties Towards them, dictated hy common decency! (IRhUN, And ifgood and had are to he honoured equally, Where are our values? Patriotism! Civic duty! ANTIGONE. Death is another Country. Such things May not be valued there. May even he Crimes. CRFUN. An enemy is still an enemy. Dead or alive. ANTIGONIL No, I was born with love enough To share: no hate for anyone. CRLON. Very well. Share your love by all means, Share it with the dead. I wish them well of it. Women must learn to obey, as well as men. They can have no special treatment. I.aw is law And will remain so while I am alive And no woman will get the better of me . . . isMiiNia is brought in under guard. SIM has been crying, and looks gaunt and worn. (ziltmus (severally). Look Senators, Ismene, weeping for her sister! Her face is raw with tears, Flayed with misery! Her loveliness s scarred now this disaster Darkens her fair skin With premonitions and fears And flushes her cheeks with anguish, not beauty. lSMENlZ is dragged before (:REON. (:Rht'm. And you! Snake! Slithering silently About my house, to drink my blood In secret! Both of you the same! I looked the other way: and like terrorists Antigone 25 You laid undercover plans to destroy me. Well, do you too confess your complicity In this crime? Or protest your innocence? ISMENE. Yes, I confess. If she will allow me To say so. I was fully involved, And if she is guilty, so am I. AN'I'IGONli. No! That isn't justice! When I asked For help, you refused me: and so I told you I didn't want you, I'd do it alone. ISMENE. But now that you're in danger, Antigone. I'm proud to stand beside you in the dock. ANTIGONE. The dead man knows who buried him. What use Are people who are all words and no action? ISMENE. Please, my sister, don't despise me! Let me share the honour and die With you. AN'l'lGONE. You've no right to claim the honour for doing What you were afraid to do. One death Will be enough Why should you die? ISMENE. Because life without you won't be worth living. ANTIGONE. Ask Creon to protect you. He is your uncle. ISMENE. Do I deserve such contempt? Do you enjoy Making fun of me, sneering at my misery. AN'I'IGONE. You're right. It's a reflection of my own pain, If such bitter pleasures are all I have left. ISMFle. Let me help you then. It's not too late. ANTIGONE. Save your own life. Do that for yourself Without any criticism from me: or envy. JSMENh. For god's sake, Antigone, will you not allow me Even to share my death with my sister? AX'l'ltMle. No. I won't. You chose to live When I chose to die: and that's the end of it. ISMENE. ButI wasn't afraid to speak! I warned you That this would happen. I knew how it would be! ANTIGUNE. And most, the majority, would agree with you. But some would be of my opinion. ISMENE. But we're both in the wrong, and both condemned! ANTIGONE. No, you must live. I have been dead For a long time, inwardly. I am well suited To pay honour to the dead, and die for it. CREON. These women are neurotic, lunatics, both of them! One of them going off her head before 4:12 ' Messenger X antigonepdf lg lg 22 Antigone They are for today, yesterday, and all time. No one understands where they came from, But everyone recognises their force: And no man's arrogance or power Can make me disobey them. I would rather Suffer the disapproval and punishment Of men, than dishonour such ancient truths. I shall die, of course, some time, Whether you make laws or not. If my death Comes sooner rather than later, I shall welcome it. My life has been misery is misery now. 1 shall he more than happy to leave it. There will be no pain, and no despair In that. But to leave my mother's son Out there in the open, unburied, That would have been unendurable, I could not have borne it. Whereas this I shall endure. By your judgement Of course, I'm a fool. But by mine, It's the judge, not the accused who's behaving foolishly. CHORUS. This is her father speaking, Stubborn Like him, she won't give way, not even With the whole power of the State against her. CREON. Well, we shall see. Any man can be broken, And often the most committed and determined Break soonest. Even iron, you know, Left lying in the fire too long Becomes over tempered, and will snap As soon as a little pressure is applied. You can break it in pieces. And the wildest horse In the end submits to the bit and halter Just like the rest. People without power, Ordinary citizens, must necessarily obey Those in authority over them. This woman is very proud. That was obvious In the first place when she broke the law, And is even clearer now. She glories In the crime she has committed, and insults me To my face, as well as ignoring my decree. If she is allowed to flout the law In this way, all authority 4:12 ' Messenger X antigonepdf lg lg Antigone 21 And scattered it on him. She carried an urn, A small ceremonial bronze thing, And she poured from it, three times, on the dead body Honey and wine and stuff in it, I suppose All the proper ritual for a funeral, anyway. Soon as we saw that, we came charging down And arrested her on the spot. She wasn't Frightened or anything. She stood her ground. So then we formally charged her with the crime, This. and the one before. She admitted She'd done them both, and we were relieved To hear that, I can tell you. But sorry Too, at the same time. it's very nice To get out of trouble yourself. Not so nice When you drop someone else up to the neck in it, Someone you've got no quarrel with. But still. Your own life comes first, I reckon. You have to look after number one. (:thoN. And you. You with your head down. What do you say to this accusation? Do you admit it? Are you guilty, or not? AN'rIGoNu. Yes, I'm guilty. I don't pretend otherwi (IREON. You, soldier, get out. You're cleared of all charges Against you, and free to go back to your unit. The SOLDIER seems about to speak, thin/cs better of it, rmd goes, much relieved. Now, tell me, a simple yes or no. Did you hear of my order forbidding the burial? AN'I'IGONE. Of Course I heard it. How Could I not? (:thou. And yet you dared to disobey the law? AN'I'IGONIZ. Yes, 1 did. Because it's your law, Not the law of god. Natural justice, Which is of all times and places, numinous, Not material, a quality of Zeus, Not of kings, recognises no such law. You are merely a man, mortal, Like me, and laws that you enact (Iannot overturn anuent moralities 0r common human decency. They speak the language of eternity, Are not written down, and never change