Connection: Cordelia and Antigone

When we were categorizing characters in King Lear into those who uphold Medieval values and those who uphold Renaissance values, one of the characters we saved for the end was Cordelia. She is one unique character. As I began to think about the qualities that make her so special, I found her resembling another character we studied last year. Just as Cordelia is to Shakespeare, Antigone is to Sophocles.

Cordelia is a noble woman in being able to sacrifice owning a third of her father’s kingdom in order to uphold her personal values. She doesn’t need to resort to publicly demonstrating her love for King Lear; in fact, that would make it artificial. Instead, she knows her true love is plentiful within her heart and that is the only place it has to be. Cordelia is also the most loyal to King Lear among his three daughters. She loves him, but not enough to go against her own values. In this way, she is very individualistic. She also attempts to help Lear once he learns of the betrayal of his other two daughters. Lear is traveling to Dover in order to be received by her French army.

Similarly, Antigone is a noble woman. The fathers of both characters eventually turn mad, yet they are both present to assist their fathers in the end. Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus, remained with her father until he died. Antigone heard with indignation that the body of her dead brother, Polynices, was to rot and be left for the dogs and vultures. Her brother was deprived of essential rites for those who died. Creon, the uncle of Antigone and also Polynices, published a decree prohibiting the burial of Polynices. However, Antigone violated this. When Creon questioned her, she admitted her actions. However, she didn’t regret anything she had done, similar to Cordelia. In fact, she also rudely responded to a higher authority. She said, “Because it was not God nor Justice that heralded the command. I did not think your proclamation coming from a mere mortal should transcend the eternal laws of God.” Just like Cordelia, Antigone had knowingly defied given orders to uphold her own beliefs. She would not be stopped in giving her own brother a basic burial. Although she respects her own uncle, she doesn’t respect him enough to violate her own values.

This relationship matters to me because it shows how a simple act can be grand. Furthermore, we see a more powerful position in women that is new to the era of when the stories were written. Both in ancient Greek and Elizabethan times, we see the dominance of males in political affairs. However, both characters illustrate the strength females have. We learned that Cordelia was a hybrid between Medieval and Renaissance values. This connection helps me to understand those values and attempt to find other characters in other works of literature with that same mix. Cordelia finding the middle ground between the two sets of values is rare enough, but to find another character from a different novel makes it especially unique. Antigone shows utmost loyalty to her father and thus forms her Medieval side; she is also individualistic, breaks the established order by defying Creon, and strategically finds a way to bury Polynices, which helps shape her Renaissance side. Forming connections between characters based on their values is interesting to me, and it helps open up deeper meaning in the characters I read about.