Justifying actions by attributing them to fate or performing actions with little foresight, the characters of Sophocles’ Antigone exploit fate as a sanction for poor judgment. While the “power of fate is fully of mystery” (951), Creon and Antigone, among others, reason that “there’s no evading it, no, not with wealth, or war, or walls, or black sea-beaten ships” (952-953).
Creon first manipulates the idea of fate when he rationalizes the lack of a “burial mound” or “funeral rites” (233) for Polyneices. Creon asserts that Polyneices “be left unburied, his body there for birds and dogs to eat, a clear reminder of his shameful fate” (234-236). Here, Creon assumes the predetermination of Polyneices’ death and attempt at social ascension. Creon errs, however, by assuming that his duty or fate lies in punishing Polyneices; he wrongfully presumes that he is anointed to determine the fate of Polyneices’ remains.
Antigone, by contrast, invokes fate as a reason for burying her deceased brother. Were Creon to punish Antigone for insubordination, Antigone would “count that a gain” (522). Cognizant of her inexorable passing, Antigone shrugs death off and believes that “meeting this fate won’t bring any pain” (526-527). Antigone recognizes the universality of death and deludes herself by reasoning that it could strike extemporaneously, as dictated by fate.
Born a “wretched daughter” (972), Antigone concludes that fate “sticks to us” (967). The convoluted circumstance of her birth, “the curse arising from a mother’s marriage bed” (968-969) has shadowed her throughout her life. The inauspicious fate of her parents was ultimately bequeathed to her, illustrating the foreordained nature of fate. “An outcast”, “unmarried an accursed” (973), Antigone admits that “death killed me while still alive” (975). This concession elucidates Antigone’s earlier placid demeanor; Antigone does not fear death for death has consumed her life.
While free will exists in Antigone, fate prevails. Every action, every decision is predetermined by fate; this maxim holds true for the vast majority of tragedies. Lamentably, fate rarely works out in one’s favor as all paths lead to death.
