Read the following excerpt from Sophocles’ tragedy *Antigone* carefully before choosing your answer:
ISMENE:
Bethink thee, sister, of our father's fate,
Abhorred, dishonored, self-blinded, how he died,
Robbed of his eyes by his own hand, for sins
Which his own search detected. Next, his mother and wife
(Two names in one) with twisted halter choked her life.
And lastly, our two brothers in one day
Slew each the other, and together lay.
And now we two are left, alone and weak;
Think how much worse our end will be, if we
Defy the law and brave the king's decree.
We must remember we are women born,
Not fit to cope with men; and furthermore,
That we are subject to a stronger power,
To obey in this and things more harsh than this.
ANTIGONE:
I will not urge thee, no, nor if thy mind
Should change hereafter, should I be well pleased
To have thee as partner. Be what character thou wilt;
But I will bury him. To me it is noble
To die in doing this. I shall lie down
With him, beloved with the beloved, having dared
A holy crime. For I must please the dead
For longer time than those who live on earth;
For there I shall lie forever. But if thou wilt,
Be guilty of dishonoring what the gods hold in honor.
In this scene, how does the contrast between Ismene’s appeal to historical precedent and Antigone’s insistence on divine law function to define Antigone’s character as a tragic protagonist?
- AIt characterizes Ismene's caution as the play's endorsed moral standard, thereby casting Antigone's defiance as a purely foolish error in judgment.
- BIt establishes a stark division between Ismene’s weakness and Antigone’s strength, reducing their sisterly relationship to a simple conflict of good versus evil.
- It highlights Antigone's uncompromising moral absolutism by framing Ismene's pragmatic compliance as a capitulation to mutable human authority.Cevap
- DIt recounts the deaths of Oedipus, Jocasta, Eteocles, and Polynices to outline the family curse that forces both sisters to act in unison.
- EIt serves primarily as a narrative prologue to summarize offstage events, using Ismene as an objective chorus rather than a foil to Antigone’s values.