... only one side can triumph; the Parisian audience in 1944 would have seen it as a battle of good versus evil, the protagonist versus the antagonist, the latter of which they would have believed to be Creon, the side of good being championed in the unlikely form of Antigone. Unlikely, because she is in fact the antithesis of what is considered to be archetypal heroine; both physically and emotionally. She has not yet reached womanhood, still having a fairly flat, unremarkable physique, in comparison to her sister Ismene. Ismene is described by the Chorus to be 'beautiful' and 'radiant', surrounded by men in the opening scene, 'smiling and chatting' with them, showing her natural charisma and confidence. Ismene embodies a typical heroine; bright, beautiful, optimistic; characteristics Antigone does not possess. Indeed, she is described by the Chorus as 'tense, sallow and wilful': hardly a complimentary portrayal. Her image is then further ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now