Unintended Consequences in Antigone
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Unintended consequences are situations where an action results in an outcome that is not what is intended. The unintended results may be foreseen or unforeseen, but they are almost always logical or likely results of the action. These consequences could be positive or negative, but it is often said that almost all human actions have at least one unintended consequence. In other words, each cause has more than one effect, including unforeseen effects. A real-world example of this is the Treaty of Versailles, which was the peace treaty that ended World War I. Several countries were involved in treaty negotiations, but some countries were excluded and did not have any demands met. So what resulted is an unhappy compromise, sparking a chain of events that eventually let to World War II. So as a result, war was an unintended consequence of the the Treaty of Versailles. Just like in history, there are unintended consequences in Sophocles tragic play, “Antigone.” Tragedy creates a cause and effect chain and shows how the world operates, and it shows in this particular play. In Antigone, by Sophocles, Antigone and Creon are both blind to possible outcomes of their actions resulting in unforeseen and foreseen consequences that ultimately result in the death of Creons entire bloodline.
An example of Antigones unintended consequence is when she decides to bury her dead brother, Polyneices. Creon orders that no one is to bury Polyneices because he is a traitor. “As for his blood brother, Polyneices by name, He broke his exile, he came back hungry for blood, He wanted to burn his fatherland and family gods Down from the top. He wanted to lead his people Into slavery. This man will have no grave: It is forbidden to offer any funeral rites; No one in Thebes may bury him or mourn for him. He must be left unburied. May birds and dogs feed on his limbs, a spectacle of utter shame” (lines 163-206). Antigone understands that Creon will kill her if she burys her brother, but she says it will be a noble death. She shows this during her conversation with Ismene: “When you say this, you set yourself against me. Your brother will take you to him as his enemy. So you just tell me and my bad judgement Go to hell. Nothing could happen to me So bad that it would cloud my noble death” (lines 93-97). In this quote she says that her death will be noble, and stands firm to her decision. But the fact that she is martying herself for a dead brother proves that maybe she didnt think things through. Shes only acting out of excessive pride and hunger for glory. Antigones final speech before death is somewhat confusing and reckless, saying that she would not have done this for a son or husband; this shows that her beliefs may have become distorted: “…And, Polyneices, look: this is my reward for taking care of you. I was right, but wisdom knows I would not do it for a child, were I a mother. Not for a husband either. Let them lie, putrefied, dead; I would not defy the city at such cost for their sake…” (lines 904-908). Later in this speech, Antigone hints that she did this because she thought it was what the gods wanted. She makes it seem that even though she stood firm to her decision and foresaw the potential consequences, she didnt actually think it would come to this. “..What have I ever done against divine justice? How can I expect a god to help me in my misery? To whom should I pray now? Do you see? They are counting all my reverence to be Irreverence. If the gods really agree with this, Then suffering should teach me to repent my sin. But if the sin belongs to those who condemned me, I hope they suffer every bit as I do now” (lines 921-928). She