All I desired to do was bury my brother-my own flesh and blood. I know that he died attacking the city, but that did not make him any less my brother! I had already been through so much heartbreak already, especially the death of both of my parents (I would rather not talk about this part; I am still dealing with the fact that my mother was also my grandmother...), and then both of my brothers died in the same day, fighting each other. Polynices was a part of my parents the same as me, the same as Eteocles who received a proper burial, and I could not handle the disrespect shown towards him by Creon and his ridiculous command. I even claimed that "I would not have done the forbidden thing/ For any husband or for any son" (150). If it had been my husband or child who had died and a command was issued not to bury him, I would have hardened my heart against it and acquired a new husband or given birth to another child. But since my parents died, there would be no way for me to have another brother. I would have thought Ismene to feel the same way, but when I discussed it with her she showed herself to be spineless and weak. I asked her, "Is he not my brother, and yours, whether you like it/ Or not?" (128), and she replied to me with "O think, Antigone; we are women; it is not for us/ To fight against men; our rulers are stronger than we" (128). As if I cared about what Creon said or what he would do to me if I disobeyed! I cared not that I was a woman or that I did not possess the same political or physical power as Creon. I did what I thought was right for my brother and myself.
I was only able to succeed in the most paltry of burials, but I succeeded also in giving honor to my brother. As I told Ismene, "
I shall never desert him, never" (128). When the sentries found me, I was not at all frightened of what I knew would happen. I had done my duty to my brother, my duty to the dead. I was almost glad to have been caught, so that my wretched uncle could see that it was I who defied him. He seemed quite shocked to see that it was I who dared defy the orders of the king. I assume that his response was due to my womanhood and my relation to him. For, of course, a female, specifically a female relative, would
never dream of going against the orders of her lord and king. However, I know that he has since learned that neither of those traits could stop me.
And although my actions stemmed mostly from my love for my brother and the desire to give him deserved respect and honor, I did care also for fulfilling the will of the mighty gods. When Creon confronted me about what I had done, I told him outright that his "order did not come from God. Justice,/ That dwells from the gods below, knows no such law./ I did not think [his] edicts strong enough/ To overrule the unwritten unalterable laws/ of God and heaven" (138). Creon was only a mortal man who had not the right to spit in the face of the gods. How could I allow a divine law go unheeded, especially when the forsaken man was my own beloved brother? And now I am dead, a result of the terrible hubris of my uncle. Dead and able to be with my parents, brothers, and fiance in the afterlife. I have conversed with the soul of Eteocles and he has told me that he is glad that I honored our brother. Creon may suffer for the rest of his desolate life without his wife or son; I care not at all that his choices now cause him pain. He deserves all that has befallen him for daring to defy the gods and myself. I must now return to Hades where my actions are honored and celebrated.
