Antigone Journal #1

In Anouilh's adaptation of Antigone the Chorus provides a back story and informs the reader of previous events that is important to the story line. But in Anouilh's version the Chorus has been reduced to just one person, basically speaking for the people of Thebes. The Chorus provides the information on how the reader knows that Antigone is going to die and sets her up as the Tragic Hero in the end. The Chorus also provides an "in-between" view on the whole subject but can change the readers view on characters. The Chorus effects the readers' interpretation of Antigone by making the reader feel sorry for Antigone (I guess pathos). The play has not even yet started and we already feel a (sort of) sorrow for Antigone and what she is going to have to go through. Here is an example: "Another thing she is thinking is this: she is going to die. Antigone is young. She would much rather live than die." (3). Plus we already get the feel that we already know all this much information based on the characters and they do not, and this will definitely hurt them in the long run. The Chorus also sets up Ismene's character which also have an effect on how we kind of interpret her from the beginning. "[...] Ismene - to the gay and beautiful Ismene [...] Now look at Ismene again. She is certainly more beautiful than Antigone." (4) We get this obvious interpretation how beautiful Ismene is, and how much MORE beautiful she is than Antigone. This sets up rivalry between the two sisters, beauty and personality wise. Because it says that Ismene is way more beautiful than her but who knows personality-wise. The last major character that I think the Chorus effects the readers' interpretation of the characters is Creon the King. Here is an example: "That gray-haired, powerfully built man sitting lost in thought [...] his face is lined, he is tired. He practices the difficult art of a leader of men [...] when Oedipus was king [...] he was different. He loved music, bought rare manuscripts, was a kind of art patron." (4). As soon as the Chorus starts describing him we see that he has aged a lot quicker, but still kept his stature of a leader when he became king. We also see that he used to love hobbies but can no longer enjoy them because of his position of power. This effects the view of the king as seeing Creon as just a regular guy who stopped doing what he loved because of being stuck with the position and we feel sympathy towards him.