Antigone, InterruptedSophocles' Antigone is a touchstone in democratic, feminist and legal theory, and possibly the most commented upon play in the history of philosophy and political theory. Bonnie Honig's rereading of it therefore involves intervening in a host of literatures and unsettling many of their governing assumptions. Exploring the power of Antigone in a variety of political, cultural, and theoretical settings, Honig identifies the 'Antigone-effect' - which moves those who enlist Antigone for their politics from activism into lamentation. She argues that Antigone's own lamentations can be seen not just as signs of dissidence but rather as markers of a rival world view with its own sovereignty and vitality. Honig argues that the play does not offer simply a model for resistance politics or 'equal dignity in death', but a more positive politics of counter-sovereignty and solidarity which emphasizes equality in life. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Introduction to Part I | 13 |
feminist theory and the turn | 36 |
the directors agon in Germany | 68 |
Introduction to Part II | 85 |
plotting | 95 |
Antigones conspiracy with language | 121 |
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Common terms and phrases
Achilles action agonistic Antigone’s Antigone’s Claim Antigone’s dirge argues Athenian Athens Benjamin brother burial bury Polynices Butler calls Chapter Chorus cites classical conspiracy conspires context Creon Crimp critics critique Darius dead death democracy democratic dirge Edelman Elsaesser Elshtain Eteocles ethics Eurydice Fassbinder Fassbinder’s feminist fifth-century film focus forced choice frame Freud gender genre Germany in Autumn Goldhill grief grievability Haemon Hegel Herodotus heroic heteronormative Homeric humanist Intaphrenes interruption Ismene Ismene’s Jacques Rancière Judith Butler kinship Kluge Lacan Lee Edelman Lila Lipscomb logos Loraux Madres maternalism melodrama mortalist humanism mother mourning natal one’s performed perhaps Pericles phonê play play’s polis politics of lamentation Polynices queer queer theory quilt Rancière reading reception resistance response says scene seeks seems sentry sister Slavoj Žižek Sophocles sororal sovereign sovereignty speech act story suggests suicide theorists theory tragedy tragic Trauerspiel turn to Antigone University Press vengeance woman women Žižek Zupančič