Antigone Journal 3

Contrasting ideas-

Machine vs. Choice:
Anouilh uses the motif of machinery to contrast the idea of fate with choice. Like a machine, fate is predetermined and has a routine which it must follow. Machines do not have choices. In one of the scenes, the Chorus is explaining how the machine of life works. Essentially, Anouilh is saying that every individual is born with their life path already set out before them. It is "automatic" and cannot be changed (23). Anouilh then goes on to say "it has been oiled ever since time began, and it runs without friction" (23). By saying "it runs without friction" (23), Anouilh is implying that humans lack complete control of their lives. This contrast created between machines and choices provide the audience with an insight to Antigone's mind. Antigone is conflicted because she believes in fate, yet she is trying to control her future. Antigone knows she will die, but she still defends her right to live. Through Antigone's actions, Anouilh creates tension. It is impossible to have a predetermined fate and   make choices at the same time. This is proven through the quote "Antigone is going to be able to be herself now" (24). This illustrates that fate and choices cannot co-exist. It is not until Antigone fulfills her fate that she is able to make decisions and be herself.

Moral Law vs King's Law:
In Greek culture, which the play Antigone is based off of, we know that not burying someone is the most disrespectful act a person can commit. The Greeks believed that humans who went without a burial would "wander eternally and find no rest" (29).  Antigone feels morally obligated to bury her brother Polynices and because Antigone is a woman who believes in moral law, Antigone disobeys the King's law. Anouilh contrasts these two concepts in the scene where Antigone had just been brought to King Creon. Creon is accusing Antigone of being a "traitor" and says that because Antigone is "a daughter of the lawmakers", she must "observe the law" (29). Here Anouilh explores the idea that following moral law conflicts with following the King's law. Once again, the two cannot co-exist peacefully. Antigone must die because she followed moral law and Anouilh shows us that this is the outcome of not following the King's law, or political law.