Yongmin Cho
Period D
3/30/10
Hubris in Antigone
Antigone is a true martyr; she sacrifices her life to secure the honorable death of Polynices, her corrupt brother. While all odds are clearly against our heroine, she is obstinate; she will never let the spirit of her brother descend to rest unattended for. She is willing to give her life, even if it means the death of her loved ones and herself. The pervading theme of the play is the inevitable workings of fate – once fate’s wheel has been turned, there it is unstoppable. The chorus continually underscore the teleological progression of events – the moment Antigone rebelled, it was already too late to turn things back. Hence, the fate of our heroine was inevitable. But really? At first, I did not agree to this point. My assumption comes from the fact that Antigone had volition, and there were many choices that she could have made to save herself and perhaps at the same time, not relinquish her pride.
For instance, Creon makes several appeals to Antigone, saying that Antigone needs to understand that maintaining order is the priority, and pleads for her to back down. Had I been in Antigone’s shoes, I would have listened to Creon and let my anger simmer down. Although I would have lamented for the pitiful fate of Polynices, if acquiescing served for the better good, I would have been passive. Why couldn’t Antigone have done that? Because of her major flaw – her inability to consult with others; her obstinacy; inflexible self – righteousness – hubris.
The chorus mentions directly Antigone’s incorrigible flaw “You showed respect for the dead. So we for you: but power is not to be thwarted so. Your self-sufficiency has brought you down.” Antigone’s unyielding, irrational self sufficiency was her problem. But Antigone’s flaw is sugarcoated – at first, I too did not see Antigone is being characteristically flawed. Compared to Oedipus, her father, who was definitely arrogant and prideful of his power, Antigone is not arrogant. She is only defending her principles and what she believes is the right thing to do. She stands as the righteous woman, someone who always does what she thinks is right in this world.
But what happens when irrationality engulfs one’s self righteousness? It gives rise to hubris. Hubris, although literally means haughtiness, often indicates a loss of touch with reality and overestimating one's own competence or capabilities. Antigone, headstrong, irrationally pursues the accomplishment of her principles without taking time to look at the bigger picture. She is rash and aggressive. She is uncompromising and unwilling to listen to anyone but herself. Yea, she heroically defends her principles, but just like Oedipus, she does not open her ears and listen to the voice of reason.
Hence, my first thought no longer holds – Antigone was fated to die and bring down the empire. She was born stubborn and irrational, and easily manipulated as fate’s tool. There is no room for ‘what if’s; Antigone would have never compromised to Creon’s laws. As a result, the string of events lead to her tragic death. Antigone’s indubitable hubris was key to unleashing the tragic plot of the play.