When reading the story of Antigone, I was intrigued by the character Ismene right away. For some reason, I found myself siding and reasoning with her and going so far as to defend her in class discussions. In this blog, I am going to look further into the subject of why that is.
In class, many regarded Ismene as a push-over and the weaker of the two sisters. Although I would not completely argue against the fact that Ismene is the weaker-minded of the sisters, there is something about her actions that causes me not to immediately dismiss her and the all-together inferior. She tells Antigone that she will not aide her in burying their brother because of the consequences they will receive if they do so. This shows that she is smart, not merely a coward. I mean, realistically, when faced with the option of doing something honorable or being sentenced to death, although many people would like to think that they would take the honorable route, in the end humankind will do almost anything to avoid their own mortality. Ismene is simply acting as Antigone's voice of reason. In addition, no matter what decisions Antigone makes, no matter how absurd they may be, Ismene stands by her. The same can definitely not be said for Antigone. Though Antigone preaches honor and respect, she does not practice it. Although Ismene does not walk the walk, she does not talk the talk. That to me is more honorable than Antigone, who does not follow through with what she supposedly believes in in every aspect of her life.
Eventually, Antigone ends up dying after doing something she believes is right and honorable: burying her brother. However, her death is her own doing and therefore the two events are actually unrelated. Ismene is able to fly under the radar, so to speak, and only puts her own life at risk when defending her sister in an action she does not even agree with to begin with. I am not in anyway insinuating that it is right for Ismene to forgo what she thinks is right for fear of consequences, just that Antigone obviously had things going on in her life that would cause her to commit suicide and that burying her brother is not as heroic as it might seem at first. Antigone makes it seem that she is not afraid of death because that is how much she cares for her brother, yet the fact that she is not afraid of death might simply be a bonus when she decides to bury her brother.
Ismene is a constant throughout the story. Not only is she supportive, she is reasonable and level-headed. Accordingly, Ismene is one of the only characters who does not have a tragic demise.
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13 comments:
Great job on your blog! You make a really good point -- I think we're so caught up in admiring Antigone as "the first feminist" that we overlook what is quite possibly a foolish decision. Antigone puts her life on the line for the honor of the dead, but Ismene knows that (perhaps only by our value system) it is not worth it. Ismene puts her life on the line only for a living sibling. I'm glad you pointed this out, because you're right, Ismene doesn't deserve the harsh judgment she gets.
Hey Janey! I am glad you found something to write about! Also I think it's funny that one sibling in both sets of 12th-grade twins wrote about Ismene vs. Antigone (you and Nicole Swinford). But that is not my whole comment.
I think you make some really good points. Ismene tries to find a middle ground between the self-righteous Antigone and the law-abiding Creon. Because Sophocles is making a statement about being able to see the "shades of gray" in different situations, Ismene is as close to a model character as this play gets, and so she does not have a tragic downfall. In fact, I think she is just as strong as her sister; just as Antigone stands up to Creon, so does Ismene stand up to Antigone, her own sister (and aunt, or something).
PS I just noticed your title, and it made me laugh out loud.
Great job, Janey! You made a great and very convincing argument for a sympathetic view of Ismene, who, like you pointed out, tends to be looked upon way too critically. As you mentioned, she does show her courage, but in a different way than Antigone; she stands up for Antigone, her sister who still has a chance at life, rather than knowingly putting herself into a fatal situation to bury her brother. Ismene is much easier to relate to than Antigone because she, unlike Antigone is a multi-dimensional character. Great job on pointing all of that out!
Haha nice title Jay-Z. I think we had a similar discussion in our class with regards to the relationship between Antigone and Ismene, especially concerning the fact that Ismene will stand by Antigone no matter what she does, and how the same cannot be said for Antigone. Ayten's blog talks about how Antigone and Creon lack the Golden Mean, and you could say Ismene does not have a tragic demise in the end because she does have this Golden Mean.
Just fyi "Ismene" is pronounced "Is-men-eh."
Good job.
As a side-note, she and Antigone are probably genetically deformed.
Because their dad is also their brother. Weird.
Hi Janey :]
I really enjoyed reading your blog. I like how you analyzed Ismene and I definately support your argument. Although Antigone is usually the one admired for being honorable and heroic, Ismene should be as well because she offers to share in the guilt even though she warned Antigone her actions would result in punishment/death and she also promises to not tell anyone what Antigone is doing at her own risk. Again, awesome blog Janey!
hahahah love the title! sooo you! imagining you saying it and laughing like crazy!
anyway....
I'm really glad you decided to focus on the superior minded individual in the family aka the only non-crazy. Definetly a unique view and all your evidence definetly caused me to agree with you! You made me remember Ismene and begin to admire her approach to the matter! Overall great stuff!
I remember having this discussion in class. Very nice post. While I would agree with you on the fact that Ismene is the more pragmatic of the two, I will still argue (to the death!) that Antigone is the real hero of the story. While Antigone may have killed herself anyway and that is the reason she is not afraid of death, I still believe that, in a time of crisis, Antigone was the one to stand up and take the punishment necessary to do the honorable deed of burying her brother. While Ismene symbolizes what the majority of us would likely think we would do, in reality, I believe that, when confronted with the same situation, most of us would choose to bury our brother, no matter what the cost.
Janey, I really enjoyed reading your blog. For starters, it was nice to hear a little about Ismene, rather than the typical dicussion everyone seems to be having about Antigone and Creon. I also found it really interesting the point you made at the end of the blog where you stated that Antigone's death was not as honorable as it seems because she could have very well been suicidal before she made the decision to bury her brother. All in all, great interpretation of a key thematic element of the play. Good job!
Great post Janey. I enjoyed it. You brought up two questions that I found especially interesting: Why does Ismene essentially disappear from the end of the play? and, How sincere can an act be if it purely symbolic? The first question you do a great job answering, I thought your assessment of Ismene's character, in class and in this blog, seemed pretty accurate, or, at least, a worthy hypothesis. And the second one , which you brought up at the end your blog while arguing against Antigone, was something that really made me think. You've done the Zitomer name proud. Just kidding. Seriously though good job.
Jazz--good title, good blog. And Ismene does get a bum rap, at least from Antigone, who accuses her of having no love for their brother or the gods' laws. I agree that's unfair and that Ismene does show her love, especially for Antigone, and therefore deserves more of our respect and sympathy.
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