sanae reviewed Antigone by Jean Anouilh
Antigone (by Anouilh)
4 stars
I think I liked it more when I read it in high school, maybe my French was better, but still pretty good.
It's a play, based on the Greek play Antigone, though modern things like "driving fast cars" are present. I'm not putting any spoilers for that reason.
Most of the play is a dialogue between Antigone and Creon about when to do the thing you believe in. Creon argues that order must be maintained at all costs, that he is the only one who sees clearly that hard decisions must be made to maintain order, and does his best to convince Antigone to help him cover up what she'd done so he would not have to have her put to death. If the original story is a straightforward story of heroism in the face of tyranny, this raises all the questions that might come up in the real world. …
I think I liked it more when I read it in high school, maybe my French was better, but still pretty good.
It's a play, based on the Greek play Antigone, though modern things like "driving fast cars" are present. I'm not putting any spoilers for that reason.
Most of the play is a dialogue between Antigone and Creon about when to do the thing you believe in. Creon argues that order must be maintained at all costs, that he is the only one who sees clearly that hard decisions must be made to maintain order, and does his best to convince Antigone to help him cover up what she'd done so he would not have to have her put to death. If the original story is a straightforward story of heroism in the face of tyranny, this raises all the questions that might come up in the real world. But what if actually dying really sucks and living is good and life is beautiful? What if you'll hurt the people you care about? What if you're scared? What if the thing you do may have no effect on the world? Is it still worth it, to say no to something you know is wrong?
And maybe more insidiously, what if your allies are sometimes shitty people, or your cause is flawed, or you can't do a great job of making a dramatic speech about why you're right? What if the average person actually hates you for the decision you've made, or maybe worse, doesn't care? What if deep down you don't totally believe in all of the symbolism behind what you're doing? What if maybe you are in fact a bit self centered and over dramatic and immature? What if it isn't actually possible for an ordinary human to maintain the narrative of a straightforward and flawless hero?
It's kind of more of an essay in disguise than a story. Most stories of this kind are about the physical courage of resisting the tyrant, and come with a satisfying conclusion where the hero wins some kind of victory and is seen as a hero even if there is a moment of tragic self-sacrifice. This is a story that kind of asks, for real though, let's talk about what this might look like in real life.
One thing that is interesting about this story is that Antigone never quite has great answers to any of Creon's well-practiced arguments. She does not, as people say, defeat Creon in the marketplace of ideas. He does successfully fill her with doubt. She still chooses to act, and, as she points out, is the only one with real agency in this play, because Creon, through his rationalizations, has long ago chosen not to have any.
An important piece of context about this play is that it was written and performed in Nazi-occupied France, under Nazi censorship.
