Topic > Analysis of Antigone's Character Development

In Antigone, Antigone perseveres through all her hardships and decisions with her morals and values. We notice that Antigone transforms over the course of the play from stubborn and underestimated to courageous and open-minded. This would ultimately lead to her death, but she dies with pride and has no regrets because she believes her act was morally the right thing to do by going against Kreon's government. Creon's rule was not to bury Antigone's deceased brother, but she was willing to sacrifice her life for it. This shows that Antigone's motivations are love for her family and the divine law that she places above all else. Antigone's motivations are shown throughout the play and there are three key scenes to demonstrate this. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay At the beginning of Antigone, Antigone and her sister Ismene return to Thebes in an attempt to help their brothers. The sisters learned that both of their brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, had died, which led to Creon becoming the new ruler of Thebes. With this authority, he grants Eteocles an honorable funeral service for his courageous fight, while Polyneices was a traitor and was refused a worthy funeral. Antigone clearly disagrees with Creon's unforgivable command and declares that she will go against his rule so that his soul may be at peace. Completely aware of the consequences of this act, which is death, he continues to swear his love to his family. This shows the audience his strength and determination towards his brother. However, this great feeling of pride will ultimately lead to her downfall as she is willing to give up everything for her family. In this scene Antigone develops into an admirable character in which she portrays her defiance and courage, pride, open-mindedness and sense of moral rectitude to show the character's vital growth as the play progresses. In the next scene, Ismene refuses to take part in the crime against Creon, leaving Antigone all alone. Ismene states “why rush to extremes? It is madness, madness” (Sophocles 80). Ismene cannot understand the logic behind her sister's desire to give her deceased brother a burial. Ismene has made countless attempts to reason with Antigone about why the crime is not worth committing, but Antigone's overbearing sense of pride blinds her to the ruin she will encounter. Antigone decides that “there is only one way: to do it alone, since it must be done”. Antigone showed Ismene her commitment to the final decision she made to stand by her brother, blinded by her low sense of pride. This pride affects her thinking and prevents her from using common sense. For example, it is difficult for her to admit something wrong that she has done. Finally, towards the end of the play, Antigone is unhappy not with what she has done or her behavior, but rather saddened by Creon's unjust reasoning and his death sentence. This does not mean that she had regrets and that Antigone is fully aware of her actions and does not back down or show fear. Ultimately, she accepts the consequences she was given, but refuses to acknowledge that what she did was an illegal act. She argues to Creon that "if this causes me to die before my time, why is such a death a gain." This only means that his crime is reasonable and that his death would be honorable along with his brother. This strong support and loyalty to divine laws rather than state laws allows her to defy Kreon's orders. Listen and satisfy the gods rather than a.