name name instructor name course name day month, year Antigone Antigone returns to her home city-state of Thebes to discover both of her brothers, Polynices and Eteocles, have murdered each other. Creon, her uncle who is now king, has decreed that no man shall bury Polynices because he has been declared a traitor. Whoever dares to defy the law will be put to death in unimaginably harsh manners. Antigone is caught and is sentenced to death. However, by the time Creon has figured out he was wrong, Antigone has already hung herself. Her fiancé Haimon, who is Creon’s son, has also committed suicide. Haimon’s mother, who is Queen Eurydice has followed suit and has committed suicide as well. Antigone’s devotion to her values and beliefs are what make her such a powerful female lead. Throughout the play, she shows the difference between having loyalty in what you believe is true and what the state declares as true. After analyzing this theme, it is clear that having loyalty to yourself and your family is much more important than loyalty to the laws created by the government. The first scene of Antigone portrays the protagonist Antigone and her sister Ismene disagreeing about burying Polynices and defying Creon. Antigone’s loyalty remains with her dead brothers and her own values and beliefs. Antigone divulges to Ismene her incredible plan to sneak away to bury her traitorous brother. Ismene however, wants no part in the project Antigone has decided to take on, because Ismene believes that they will be caught and executed. Antigone says, “And if I have to die for this pure crime, I am content, for I shall rest beside him; His love will answer mine,” meaning that she is choosing to remain loyal to her deceased brother. This clearly depicts Antigone’s