On page 35 of George Steiner's Antigones, the conflicts of man and god as well as man vs. woman are both expressed. This page interests me because it explains that Antigone's crime was premeditated and that she knew the price she must pay if she were caught. Steiner calls Antigone a criminal because she disobeyed the laws of Creon, who controlled the city-state, but Antigone followed the laws of the Gods. Her obedience to Hades, and loyalty to her family, was of more importance than her own life. One would think that in honoring the Gods, Antigone would be exempt from execution, as God trumps man, but Creon was too blind to see the end results of his sexism. Steiner quotes Kojeve which translates to, "Woman is the concrete embodiment of crime." Now, this thought process is not so far from the idea of Adam and Eve, but Eves crime was for humankind, and against God, whereas, Antigone had her priorities in order. Antigone saw the eternal afterlife, and decided that since it was a bit longer, and the Gods more powerful than Creon, she would deal with the consequences of burying her brother. She loved her brother unconditionally, and none of his life choices were going to make Antigone change her mind about whether or not he should be returned to the dirt. I am sure that many of us have estranged relatives or friends that we would not wish to be eaten by wild animals and refused burial. If you believed in the gods of the underworld, as Antigone did, would you too not try to give to Hades what is Hades'? Even Jesus said "Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s." When religions see the importance of domain, how can we ignore it?
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