"That dark-haired girl sitting by herself, staring straight ahead, seeing nothing, is Antigone. She is thinking. She is thinking that the instant I finish telling you who's who and what's what in this play, she will burst forth as the dark, tense, serious girl, who is about to rise up and face the whole world alone - alone against the world and against Creon, her uncle, the King.
Another thing that she is thinking is this: she is going to die."
Jean Anouilh's
Antigone looks closely at the character of a young girl willing to do anything for her beliefs. Whether the war between her brothers was just or not, does not matter to her. Creon's edict that her brother does not deserve a proper burial, and Antigone's conviction to do just that, provides the conflict in this play. In the context of Anouilh's lifetime, Antigone represented an act of rebellion by the French against the Fascist German regime.
In addition to Antigone's act of rebellion, Anouilh's play brings Fate to the front of the stage - the Chorus, a trapping of the ancient Greek theatre, makes sure that the audience knows that Creon alone remains alive, and alone. His niece dies. His son dies. His wife dies. And there is nothing that he can do about this outcome. There is nothing that anybody can do. Antigone knows this, and plays a cool confidence throughout the play. She is resolute in her death. The peace that comes with accepting Fate makes for an interesting story.
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In a tragedy, nothing is in doubt and everyone's destiny is known. That makes for tranquility."
Classic Greek tragedy introduced characters that started from a position of power - Oedipus, for example - who experienced a fall because of a single, exploited trait. Antigone has no power. She is simply a girl, resolute in her decision to honor her brother. She has already accepted that this decision will lead to her death, so she has nowhere to fall. Therefore, Anouilh presents that the tragedy comes instead from inevitability. The audience sees the decisions that have already been made and must face the outcome. This deviates from the Greek tradition in that catharsis is not the end goal. Instead, tragedy comes from watching a machine, working in perfect order, wound from the beginning of time, marching to its inevitable end. No matter what the players do to interfere, no matter how Haemon begs for his bride, no matter how guilt-stricken the Guard is, no matter what Creon tries to do to avoid killing his niece, Antigone must die. This, Anouilh contends, is true suspense - the time before the play's conclusion.
Antigone lives in a grey world - a world between black and white, a world outside the laws of man. She exists to move the other characters toward death, and Creon to loneliness. She exists to share with the audience perfect tragedy. And I want to help her tell that story.
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Now and again - in the three thousand years since the first Antigone - other Antigone have arisen like a clarion call to remind men of this distinction. Their cause is always the same - a passionate belief that moral law exists, and a passionate regard for the sanctity of human dignity. Well, Antigone is calm tonight. She has played her part."
