Anouilh, Antigone, Antigone et Le Garde

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ANTIGONE

Do you have to be a sergeant to be a guard?

THE GUARD

In principle, yes. Sergeant or having followed the special platoon. Having become a guard, the sergeant
loses his rank. An example: I meet an army recruit, she cannot
salute me.

ANTIGONE

Oh yes ?

THE GUARD

Yes. Note that, generally, she does. The recruit knows that the guard is a
non-commissioned officer. Regarding pay: we have the regular pay of the guard, like those in the special platoon,
and, for six months, as a bonus, a reminder of the
sergeant’s pay supplement. Only, as guards, we have other advantages. Housing, heating,
allowances. Finally, the married guard with two children manages to make more than the
active sergeant.

ANTIGONE

Oh yes ?

THE GUARD

Yes. That explains the rivalry between the guard and the sergeant. You may have noticed
that the sergeant affects to despise the guard. Their great argument
is advancement. In a sense, that is right. Advancement for the guard is slower and more
difficult than in the army. But you must not forget that a brigadier of the guards
is something different from a sergeant major.

ANTIGONE , said to him suddenly.

Listen…

THE GUARD

Yes.

ANTIGONE

I’m going to die soon.

The guard doesn’t answer. A silence. He paces. After a moment, he continues.

THE GUARD

On the other hand, we have more consideration for the guard than for the
active sergeant. The guard is a soldier, but he is almost a civil servant.

ANTIGONE

Do you think it hurts to die?

THE GUARD

I can’t tell you. During the war, those who were hit in the stomach, they
were in pain. I wasn’t hurt. And, in a way, it hurt my advancement.

ANTIGONE

How are they going to kill me?

THE GUARD

I don’t know. I think I heard that in order not to sully the city with your
blood, they were going to wall you up in a hole.

ANTIGONE

Alive?

THE GUARD

Yes, first.

A silence. The guard chews his gum.

ANTIGONE

O tomb! O nuptial bed! O my subterranean dwelling!… (She is very small in the middle
of the large bare room. She seems a little cold. She wraps her arms around herself. She
murmurs.) All alone…

Introduction

Ancient Greece, through its poets and playwrights, has transmitted to us a great number of legends. The ancients, in fact, expressed through family stories great ideas such as the relationship between man and his destiny, happiness, justice. Thus were composed tragedies included in certain cycles such as Oedipus the King and Antigone by Sophocles in the cycle of the Labdacides.

We will ask ourselves why in this scene we can affirm that there is no dialogue.

To do this, we will study the concerns and behaviors of each character: Antigone then the guard.

I. Antigone’s concerns and behaviors

« You have to be a sergeant to be a guard? »: she is speaking to the guard, she seems to have an interest in him.

« Oh yeah? »: we realize that in fact she has no real interest, she could have asked for explanations regarding the guard’s response. She refuses to engage further in the conversation.

« suddenly said to him »: Antigone seems to be elsewhere, the suddenness of the remark shows that she is coming out of her torpor, out of her reflection. She has nothing to do with what the guard is saying.

Antigone wonders about her death:

– “you think we have pain to die”: pain in relation to death.

– « how are they going to kill me? »: means of his death.

– « alive? »: how they are going to kill her.

Antigone is a socially elevated character.

« Oh tomb! Oh wedding bed! Oh my underground dwelling »: anaphora + gradation: tools of praise, almost admiration of death # vulgar speech of the guard.

Tirade taken from the tragedy of Sophocles.

« nuptial bed »: can have 2 meanings: – marriage between death and Antigone or evocation of the death of Haemon? > appeasement, exaltation.

« she is very small in the middle of the large bare room »: shows to what extent Antigone is alone against everyone, abandoned: « she surrounds herself with her arms »: an attitude which brings her to an initial, almost prenatal state, an attitude of absolute withdrawal.

“whisper”: reveals the abandonment, the solitude that takes hold of the character.

? A character who worries a lot, has anxiety about her imminent death, asks herself a lot of questions and follows the destiny that the prologue had predicted, alone against everyone, a tragic character.

II. Guard concerns and behaviors

« in principle, yes… greet me »: the guard’s response to Antigone’s question, he seeks to go deeper and has a good command of his subject, feels concerned, very satisfactory response.

« yes…, active sergeant »: the guard’s way of filling this space, a way of keeping company, he’s someone who rushes in as soon as he can speak, attention to detail.

– « balance question » moves on to another subject, a question and answer game with himself, a character obsessed with his advancement. He is only present when his speech concerns him.

– « only… housing »: accumulation of information, well-organized monologue, « allowance, heating, housing », pecuniary and non-pecuniary (material) concerns, anachronism, absence of ancient tragedy but rather bourgeois comedy, vaudeville.

– « finally… » end of the demonstration.

“we do more”: colloquial language, 20th century.

CCL: it is better to be a guard to be a sergeant (a whole paragraph to say just that).

« you have »: calls Antigone to witness who does not listen to him.
« their great argument »: does not master the language, incorrect syntactic plan, should be « his »: very limited culture and intelligence.

« the guard does not answer », « silence », « after a moment »: absence of question therefore of answer, embarrassed character, impossibility of dialogue.

“paces the 100 steps”: double interpretation: – discomfort, embarrassment or reflection which reveals immobility an exchange which does not advance.

« on the other hand… »: he continues his demonstration as if nothing had happened while Antigone has just announced her death to him, the guard is under Creon’s orders, he has no qualms, very preoccupied by his job, his speech continues while Antigone asks him: « listen ».

« He’s almost a civil servant »: for him it’s the maximum, it’s his strongest aspiration, he has a monotonous life and future.

« I can’t tell you »: it should stop there, we can’t answer until we’re dead but he continues.

Contradiction, paradox of a character who recognizes having nothing to say but who cannot stop himself from speaking.

– egocentrism: “me, I” redundancy.
– “it” familiar.

« I don’t know » but continue anyway.

« I think I heard »: he takes concerns, does not get involved, he brings up a rumor in a hesitant way.

« so as not to defile the city with your blood »: lack of tact, reminds Antigone that she must not become a martyr.

Very disrespectful of Antigone who appears as someone who should not be recognized. He specifies the fault, the sin that she embodies.

« the guard is making a quid »: ignorance of the guard who has a completely different concern than Antigone, total disinterest.

« who has finished his quid »: continues what he has to do and resumes the subject which was his? portrait of a rustic, uneducated character.

« at the Hades barracks… active sergeant »: there was no question but he continues anyway, he complains about his condition while Antigone is going to die.

? absolute insensitivity of the guard who perhaps embodies the selfish society which only has material concerns. Perhaps an allusion to the guards of the Nazi regime.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we notice an opposition of 2 characters and 2 worlds which meet. Antigone preoccupied by her approaching death and worried.