The Five Stages of Grief as Presented in Antigone

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Sophocles’ relatable and likeable portrayal of Antigone continues into Scene IV as she faces her death. While some may see Antigone’s range of emotions as weak or indecisive, the psychologist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross may have argued that she is simply displaying the natural progression of feelings that are inevitable as one consciously steps towards the end of his or her life. This psychological model, better known as The Five Stages of Grief, is very apparent in Antigone’s words, thus proving that Sophocles’ understanding of human nature was ahead of his time. Prior to Scene IV, Antigone spends much time in a form of denial. Though she was conscious of her fate, she insists that her death “is of no importance.” She begs the question of whether anyone in her position could “think Death less than a friend.” (208). Her defiant and unafraid tone suggests that the reality of her doom has not settled in.
The remaining stages are evident throughout her short, final scene. For the first time, Antigone asks the common man to pity her as she “say Good-by to the sun that shines for [her] no longer” (225). This plea is a variation of the Bargaining stage of grief. The once self-assured woman who was comfortable to die a death that pleased the Gods now asks for man’s mercy. Another vital stage, Anger, comes forth passionately in Antigone’s words. She first directs her anger towards her late father, whose marriage “strikes from the grave to murder [hers].” She refers to her father’s mistakes as the “infection of all [their] family” (226). She blames her father for a death she once welcomed. Antigone also bitterly prays that Creon’s “punishment equal [her] own” (228). The next stage, Depression, may draw sympathy from the reader because of its stark contrast to her usual fiery nature. “The very light of the sun is cold to me,” Antigone says, “Lead me to my vigil, where I must have neither love nor lamentation; no song, but silence” (227). As the scene comes to a close and Antigone is led to her doom, she finally comes to terms with her fate. By taking control of the situation and deciding that she must “wait no longer” (228) she reaches the final stage of grief: Acceptance. She has said all that she needed to say gone through the grieving that accompanies the expectation of one’s own death.