La tragedia de Sófocles Antígona ha sido objeto de innumerables versiones, interpretaciones y traducciones a lo largo de la historia de la cultura occidental. La acción de la joven hija de Edipo que entierra a su hermano Polinices a pesar de la expresa prohibición real, la rebeldía de una mujer que arrastra consigo la turbulenta historia de su linaje, ha permitido replantear cuestiones esenciales de la existencia humana todavía vigentes. Antígona alumbra aún hoy problemas tales como la cuestión del derecho al duelo –allí donde hay todavía muertos sin enterrar o desaparecidos a los que no les ha sido restituida su dignidad simbólica–, experiencias como la muerte del otro, así como la decisión de la muerte propia consentida, la cuestión tan debatida hoy en torno a la fraternidad como cimiento de lo común, y aun la temática del género que las filosofías feministas de la diferencia se hanpropuesto repensar a partir de esta obstinada figura. Los textos que constituyen el presente volumen tratan de dar cuenta de las diversas aproximaciones que la tragedia de Antígona ha suscitado.

Feminist Readings of Antigone collects the most interesting and provocative feminist work on the figure of Antigone, in particular looking at how she can figure into contemporary debates on the role of women in society. Contributors focus on female subjectivity and sexuality, feminist ethics and politics, questions of race and gender, psychoanalytic theory, kinship, embodiment, and tensions between the private and the public. This collection seeks to explore and spark debate about why Antigone has become such an important figure for feminist thinkers of our time, what we can learn from her, whether a feminist politics turning to this ancient heroine can be progressive or is bound to idealize the past, and why Antigone keeps entering the stage in times of political crisis and struggle in all corners of the world. Fanny Söderbäck has gathered classic work in this field alongside newly written pieces by some of the most important voices in contemporary feminist philosophy. The volume includes essays by Judith Butler, Adriana Cavarero, Tina Chanter, Luce Irigaray, and Julia Kristeva.

Examines Antigone’s influence on contemporary European, Latin American, and African political activism, arts, and literature. Despite a venerable tradition of thinkers having declared the death of tragedy, Antigone lives on. Disguised in myriad national costumes, invited to a multiplicity of international venues, inspiring any number of political protests, Antigone transmits her energy through the ages and across the continents in an astoundingly diverse set of contexts. She continues to haunt dramatists, artists, performers, and political activists all over the world. This cutting-edge, interdisciplinary collection explores how and why, with essays ranging from philosophical, literary, and political investigations to queer theory, race theory, and artistic appropriations of the play. It also establishes an international scope for its considerations by including assessments of Latin American and African appropriations of the play alongside European receptions of the play.

This book explores the figure of Antigone and her many reconceptualizations from antiquity to the present. One of the most popular heroines of classical literature, Antigone defied political authority to carry out the forbidden burial of her brother. Readers will become familiar with the key themes of Antigone’s story, such as the law and politics, gender, and death, tracing their survival and transformations over time. Notably, the book explores the thorough de-politicization of the heroine in philosophy and psychoanalysis, followed by a reversal and re-politicization through feminist and socio-political theories. It provides a useful tool to approach postmodern receptions of Antigone in the arts and society in the modern era, particularly in the contexts of occupied and civil war-era Greece, in Palestine, and in Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon. It also addresses issues of Antigone-like struggles of individuals or collectivities to overcome obstacles of systemic and racialized violence and gender-based oppression in the 21st century, while challenging heteronormative practices and policies to allow new subjectivities to emerge. Though Antigone’s story is complex, Karakantza provides an accessible, fascinating overview of this enduring figure’s legacy and impact over the course of history. Antigone provides a comprehensive study of this classical heroine, suitable for students and scholars of classical literature, reception studies, and gender studies. It also appeals to theatre practitioners interested in adapting and staging Sophocles’ Antigone, or any Antigone of the ancient sources.