GP1: Relationship - Application: Antigone and Haimon

GP1: Relationship - Antigone and Haimon

Overview Just like the previous post, this post will look at answering the question "Where is the love?" This time, however, I will be answering the question concerning Antigone and Haimon.

Application In speaking with my director, we came across two possible answers concerning Antigone's relationship with her cousin and fiance Haimon.

1. Lack of Love: Perhaps Haimon and Antigone are merely pawns in a chess game of continuing the royal bloodlines. Is their impending marriage a marriage of convenience that solidifies Haimon's right to the throne once his father (and Antigone's uncle) Creon dies? Is there any love between the two? Does Antigone actually love Haimon while he does not, or vice versa? If there is no love from Antigone, it would explain why she does not ever mention him.
2. Overflow of Love: Maybe Haimon and Antigone really do love each other, and the question of appropriate lineage does not exist. Then why does she not speak about him? It could be that she is trying to protect him, and she fears that any word she utters about him may result in his death; perhaps she loves him too much to let him suffer the same fate as she for a duty that he does not share. This could relate to a later passage in which she laments that "[Oedipus's] marriage strikes from the grave to murder [hers]." It could illustrate the anguish she feels at having to give up her true love in order to repair the dishonorable reputation brought on by her father.

Critique By exploring these two options, it gives me - as the actor portraying Antigone - two different response choices in Antigone's scene with Creon and Ismene. In that scene, Ismene and Creon discuss how death will be separating the bride from the groom; Antigone, however, does not speak throughout the segment. Why does she not speak? If there is a lack of love, then Antigone may appear indifferent and impatient at this talk. If there is an overflow of love, then Antigone may instead appear distraught at the realization that she has given up her chance at true love in order to die for her family's honor. By answering this question, a very poignant illustration is made that shapes the character and develop an honest performance.