Ismene's Morality

Malcolm Galligan

Ms. Peifer

English 10 IB 5th  Hour

November 26th 2008

In Sophocles' great tragedy Antigone the playwright uses the protagonist Antigone and her timid, fearful sister Ismene to pose an intriguing question: is it better to be born perfect, or to realize one's shortcomings and fix them? Antigone changes very little from the play's beginning to its devastating end. She remains steadfast in that her brother Polyneices must be buried knowing full well that Creon, the new king of Thebes, would gladly kill her for much less. Whereas Ismene changes drastically from a spineless and weak character to a valiant young woman ready to die along with her sister for what she knows is right. While she may not have originally had the courage her sister possessed, she did eventually find it and in doing so became as virtuous or even more so than her brave sister. Any penalty or reward suitable for Antigone is suitable for her as well.

In the opening scene of the play, Ismene after hearing her sister's daring plan replies, "A hopeless quest should not be made at all". This shows her lack of courage, because even though she loved her dead brother dearly, she could not bring herself to defy Creon for fear of what he would do. To begin there is little evidence of an internal struggle in Ismene, but we see later that she must clearly have been fighting with her decision not to aid Antigone.

Inevitably, Antigone goes and gives her brother, a "traitor" to Thebes proper burial rites against her uncle and reigning ruler's wishes. She is then caught and brought before him and it is here that Sophocles unveils the character development within Ismene. In front of an enraged Creon and her solemn sister Ismene declares to her sister, "let me die with thee, and duly honor the dead". She boldly defies the very thing she had "no strength for" in front of the man she was simply terrified of just a few days before. This brave act is magnified by the initial fear that consumed Ismene but never phased her sister. 

Whether Antigone is guilty or not, her fate should be shared with that of her sister. It does not matter that Antigone alone committed the act that would end her life, for Ismene would gladly have taken her own had Antigone let her. Sophocles uses this metaphor of sorts to encourage his audience to question their own morality, and perhaps to acquire the very qualities they hold so dearly but don't necessarily possess at the moment. Constantly striving to improve one's self is perhaps the greatest aspect of character anyone can have, because who among us can truly say they have always been perfect?

Works Cited

Jebb, R.C. "Antigone". Internet Classics Archive. November 26th 2008. .