Book Review - "Antigone"

Antigone by Jean Anouilh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Very intense and affecting dialogues. The play pits idealism against realism in the form of heated arguments between Antigone and her uncle King Creon. By presenting Antigone as being almost naive and pigheadedly irrational and Creon as tenuously considerate and reasonable, Anouilh exposes the real pith of both characters. In truth, Antigone is the epitome of the perfectionist idealist, whereas King Creon represents the hypocritical and callous tyrant whose only concern is power and politics.

In the commentary, it is mentioned that some critics interpret the play as apologist for the Vichy regime in Nazi-occupied France by reading pragmatism and circumspection into the character of Creon. My own conclusion is that that is hardly what the author intended.

I'm giving the play 4 stars.





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