二つの埋葬 : アンティゴネ像管見

Abstract

Polyneices' corpse was buried twice. By whom and why was it thus buried? It is certain that the second burial was performed by Antigone, but the first burial comes into question : By whom it was performed? While at first glance it seems to have been performed by Antigone, it is possible to consider it having been performed by someone other than she since it is unusual for one person to bury the same corpse twice. Was it performed by the gods, as Adams, McCall and Furguson suggest, or was it performed by Ismene, as Rouse maintains? Both views are interesting in their own ways, but ultimately unrealistic. It is reasonable to consider that the first burial was also performed by Antigone. Then, the question arises as to why she buried her brother twice--what was the motivation for her second visit? Jebb writes : "At her first visit, she had not brought the Xoai. Perhaps the rite was considered complete only if the Xoai were poured while the dust still covered the corpse." Still, the first burial was not incomplete even if the libations (Xoai) were not poured, since it seems that the rite of burial, prohibited by Creon, the king, could not but be informal in any event. At the first burial, Antigone went back to the palace not for the libations which she had forgotten to bring, but out of fear of arrest and death. One need not consider her heart always burning with fraternal love--an incarnation of the Divine Law. Subsequently, however, she decides to return to the corpse of her brother, this time in order to be arrested by the guards, discuss the propriety of the burial with Creon, and face her ultimate fate of capital punishment. The long interval between the two burials is necessary to let her determine to pursue her course of action. There is another motivation for the second visit of Antigone--the winning of fame as well as extrication from the hardship of life through the burial and death. The rite of the first burial is performed for her brother, while that of the second one is performed not only for him but also for herself. The Antigone we see in the drama is not always a lofty-minded person and an incarnation of the Divine Law, but also a frail girl (806ff.) and self-centered woman (905ff.). Antigone has chosen death (555), but Creon unreasonably changes the form of punishmesnt from death by stoning to imprisonment. Therefore, she must die by her own hand. Through her suicide her frailty is finally conquered and at the same time she dies a martyr to the Divine Law, her death bringing Creon to ruin.