Ms. Peifer
10IB Period 5
November 26, 2008
Ismene: Guilty As Charged
It is known to every person in the land that the man Polyneices was cast out of Thebes after losing the crown to his brother Eteocles. Instead of leaving permanently, Polyneices returned with an army to defeat Thebes and his brother. Both perished on the other's sword and left behind two grieving sisters and their uncle who became king in Eteocles' place: Creon. The new king announced that Eteocles be buried with distinction and honor, but Polyneices would not because of his actions against Thebes. Antigone, sister to Polyneices, evidently did not agree with this proclamation and completely ignored the law. She proceeded to give her disgraced sibling a burial. Previous to her crime, Antigone informed her sister that she planned on going through with this plot. Ismene did not tell a single soul of what Antigone told her and following the discovery of Antigone's crime, Ismene confessed to being an accomplice. These two pieces of evidence are plenty to prove that Ismene should be prosecuted along with her treacherous sister Antigone.
The very first thought that crossed Ismene's mind when she heard Antigone's plan should have been this: notify King Creon at once. However, Ismene did no such thing. Instead of doing her civic duty and informing Creon, she said this to Antigone: "But no one must hear of this, you must tell no one! I will keep it a secret, I promise!" (Fitts 817). This quote shows that Ismene willfully kept silent on this matter even when Antigone herself told her to speak of her plans to someone. A person who is aware that a crime will be done in the future, stands idly by, and allows it to pass is guilty as well as the doer of the crime. Ismene did this, thus making her an accomplice to Antigone's crime.
A confession to an offense is, of course, sends a very clear message: "I am guilty and I know it." This is what Ismene said directly: "Yes, if she will let me say so. I am guilty." (825). She continued to say, "We are equally guilty." (825). Since Ismene already knows that there were eye-witnesses to prove that Antigone did break the law, she cannot possibly be trying to save Antigone from her fate. Ismene knows that if she confesses her participation in these traitorous actions, she will be severely punished. So why would she confess to a crime that she did not take part in? The answer to that question is this: Ismene would not. She is not a brave soul: "We were born women, as who should not strive with men; next, that we are ruled of the stronger, so that we must obey in these things." (Jebb par. 5). It takes a brave person to confess to a crime that they had nothing to do with and Ismene is not one of those people.
Ismene, sister of betrayer Polyneices and sneaky Antigone, is an accomplice to Antigone's crime of breaking King Creon's law. As such, she needs to be punished for her deeds. Ismene is clearly deserving of suitable discipline because she did not inform King Creon of Antigone's planned actions and she confessed to being a part of Antigone's law breaking. This, certainly, is enough evidence to prove that Ismene is guilty as charged.
Bibliography
Sophocles. "Antigone." The Internet Classics Archive. Trans. R.C. Jebb. 04 Oct 2000 . Classics.mit.edu. 23 Nov 2008 http://classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/antigone.html
Sophocles. "Antigone." Literature Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes: World Literature. Trans. Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2001. 814-826.
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