While reflecting on some of the characters it was interesting to see where they fit within the overall play itself and their purpose/interactions with other characters.
I began looking at Antigone (Her name in Greek means ‘one who is of the opposite opinion’ (anti = against, gnomi = opinion)) herself- she definitely is larger than life in Aristotle’s terms, a very Joan of Arc-esque figure fighting against kings and men in power. Especially in Ancient Greek times she is extraordinary because of her courage and readiness to die for her brother. She simply wont accept the fact that she is not allowed to bury her brother and is extremely passionate about familial love and kindness. She could be considered the antagonist to Creon in the grand scheme of the play.
The amount of devotion she has to her family is shocking and certainly served as an example to the Greeks of true honor and dignity. In a sense she could be considered stubborn in that she doesn’t listen to Ismene and has a very strong sense of purpose that cannot and will not be swayed by outside forces. Antigone doesn’t let others control her. I would also say that she is blindly loyal to others and when Oedipus dies she must be loyal to her brother. Her loyalty is her tragic flaw. She also serves as a foil to Ismene, quite different characters in both external and internal looks and purpose.
Haemon (meaning “Bloody”)- I would say that Haemon is a character that is like us/like the audience. He tries to be a voice of reason to Creon and shows his love for his fiancee. He tries to tell Creon that it is unfair to put Antigone to death and serves as a rational character. he is someone the audience pulls for as he is trying to save the character who serves as a beacon of familial love. His devotion to her might transcend the level of “like us” to a different plain in that he threatens to fight Creon for Antigone’s life and ends up killing himself. He is put between a rock and a hard place in that he LOVES Antigone but at the same time it is WRONG for him to go against his family. His life ends up being one big conundrum in which he ultimately takes his life.
Messenger: The Messenger in many of these tragedies and plays in general serves as a stock character. Generally there is not much personality in the character but still the ability to feel and choose sides in their dialogue. They serve to tell the audience and the characters what has happened (generally off stage) and the predicament they are currently in. The messenger in this is no different. In a way I would also say that the Messenger is like us though because he/she does show sympathy for the characters who have died (namely Haemon, his mother and Antigone) and is very taken aback by what has happened. There are certainly parallels between the audience members and the messenger in Antigone.