A Clash of Free will and Fate (PUB #1)

In the Play Antigone by Sophocles there are many different occasions where the question arises on weather some of the events that happen throughout the play are a cause of someone’s free will or if it is predetermined by the gods in that person’s fate. Free will and fate is an interesting topic that has been thrown around by many people in an attempt to figure out which is true weather we as humans are destine to go some path in our lives or weather, we truly can pave our own way and go through life based on our will alone.

           

            One example of this from the play is when the Chorus is suggestion from early on that Antigone will suffer a tragic fate by saying “No generation frees another, some god strikes them down; there is no deliverance” (Chorus, 647-648). This quote suggests that there is no avoiding whatever fate Antigone is predetermined to suffer, and there is no choice that she could make that could reverse this event. The play suggests that it is the gods that have decided that Antigone is fated to die and there is no way of getting around that no matter how much free will she has no choice that she could make would change the outcome of what will happen. Another example of this comes from the blind prophet Tieriesias in talking about the fate of Haemon and that the gods have already decided that as punishment for not burying the body of Polynecies that Creon shall suffer the loss of his son and there was no choice that he could make that would change this outcome. In the play Tieriesias says “You must realize that you will not outlive many more cycles of this swift sun before you give in exchange one of your own loins bred, a corpse for a corpse…” (Tieriesias, 1122-1125). This quote shows how Tieriesias is suggesting that Creon will have to give up someone for causing the death of Antigone and that he is fated to give up one of his own, that being Haemon.

            The play could also be seen to have some aspects of free will because later in the story the Chorus talks about how some of the choices made throughout the play has led to some of the actions later in the play. The Chorus says “It is your own self-willed temper that has destroyed you” (Chorus, 920-921) This suggests that the Chorus, who are speaking to Antigone at the time, thinks that her action of attempting to bury her brother has led to her being sentenced to death and that it was her choice to be in that position at that time. The Chorus suggests that rather then the gods telling Antigone that she had to bury her brother that she decided based on her own free will to attempt to bury him. Another example of this is from earlier in the book when Antigone states “I shall be a criminal- but a religious one” (Antigone, 84-85). This line suggests that Antigone has chosen to become a criminal and decided on her own that she will bury her brother and there was no outside force that was willing her to do so.

               The play Antigone had many different views on whether the events that had occurred had been a result of fate or if everyone made their own choices and that all of the events had happened because everyone made a certain choice that caused some kind of domino effect. An argument can be made that any event was a result of fate as well as a result of free will making people ask themselves if the events were all predetermined or did they happen based on the choices made throughout.