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Politicising Antigone in Twentieth-Century Europe: From Hegel to Hochhuth Rossana Zetti PhD The University of Edinburgh 2018 2 Signed declaration I declare that this thesis has been composed solely by myself and that it has not been submitted, in whole or in part, in any previous application for a degree. Except where stated otherwise by reference or acknowledgement, the work presented is entirely my own. Signed: Rossana Zetti Edinburgh, 30/08/2018 3 Acknowledgments This research project started after I completed my Msc thesis, which focused on the reception of Sophocles’ Antigone in Ireland, under the supervision of Prof Douglas Cairns. I am grateful to him for his help and guidance throughout these years at the University of Edinburgh, from my Msc to my PhD. I am equally grateful to my secondary supervisor, Dr Richard Rawles, whose insightful advice provided me with different perspectives, to Dr Calum Maciver for his precious support and advice, and to Dr Lilah Grace Canevaro, who generously offered me feedback on an article that came out in 2018 and is related to this project. The colleagues and professors met at various conferences, workshops, and seminars in Edinburgh and throughout Europe were also a source of inspiration for my own research. My biggest thanks go to all my friends and colleagues who supported me throughout the four years at the University of Edinburgh and contributed with feedback, advice, and proofreading: Matteo Barbato, Celeste De Bois, Laura Donati, Sam Ellis, Alberto Esu, Alison John, Colleen Kron, Dot Longley-Cook, David McCaffrey, Manuel De Zubiria, Jenny Messenger, Meg Moodie, Giulia Sagliardi, Inês Silva, Thaddeus Torp, Gary Vos, and Matteo Zaccarini. I am equally grateful to my friends (climbing, running, and gym friends) and family (my parents and my sister) for their continuous support throughout the PhD experience. A special thanks goes to Niccolò Fioritti. This journey would have not been the same without you. 4 Abstract My PhD thesis explores the reception of Sophocles’ Antigone in twentieth-century Europe and focuses on the process by which Antigone is established as a canonical drama of political resistance. I argue that the reasons behind Antigone’s relevance in the modern day can be detected in the specific political reading of the play originated in the early nineteenth century thanks to Hölderlin’s and Hegel’s interpretations, which influenced a large number of later adaptations and reworkings of Antigone. This reading is favoured by the inherent political features of the play itself and its interaction with the history of the twentieth century. By focusing on a selected number of twentieth-century versions of Antigone, I clarify the ideologies and contexts which influenced the process of politicisation of the ancient play. Furthermore, I explore the peculiar approaches and techniques adopted by each author in modernising the play’s conflicts and I investigate how twentieth-century versions reflected, departed from, or reconfigured the original. My dissertation is divided into three main parts. In the first part, I introduce issues of historicism and classical reception theory. This analysis is followed by a discussion of the Antigone of Sophocles in its ancient context, which evaluates the complexities and key themes of the original that have led later authors to emphasise different aspects of the play’s conflicts. The second part focuses on the reception of Antigone before the twentieth century, to demonstrate how Antigone was received differently before its politicised variant began to be established. Hölderlin and Hegel were first to engage with the Sophoclean original – rather than with later reworkings – and emphasise the relevance of the political aspects of the play to a contemporary context. After the outline of the origins of this model, the third part focuses on how Antigone was received in the larger political climate of twentieth-century Europe. This part of my survey is divided into four sections, each devoted to a particular historical moment: the First World War, the inter-war period, the Second World War, and the period after the wars, establishing the First and Second World Wars as landmark moments in the canonisation of Antigone as political play of resistance. Through my investigation, I demonstrate that Antigone is established in this century as the canonical drama of conscientious resistance to arbitrary and autocratic authority. 5 Lay Summary of Thesis Sophocles’ Antigone has been translated, performed, and appropriated again and again across space and time. Authors are continuously enlisted to write, imagine, and stage new versions of Antigone around the world. My thesis analyses how and why this particular Classical text, the Antigone of Sophocles, is so popular and influential today. In my study, I argue that Sophocles’ Antigone matters today because it has become a “canonical” political play, representative of political resistance against tyranny. The political aspects of the play itself (Antigone’s transgression of the law and her defiance of tyranny, the role of the individual in the community) have favoured various political interpretations and have provoked broader questions of leadership, civic duty, and women’s role in society. This “politicisation” first began in the late eighteenth century thanks to a poet (Hölderlin) and a philosopher (Hegel). They were first to engage with the Sophoclean original – rather than with later reworkings – and emphasise its relevance to contemporary political events (in particular, the French Revolution). This political interpretation then influenced a large number of playwrights and authors in their approaches to the play. In my thesis, I focus in particular on a number of versions of Sophocles’ Antigone written and staged in the twentieth century and I investigate how they reflected, departed from, or reconfigured the original. I argue that the specific historical context of the twentieth century, characterised by wars, dictatorships, and resistance, has further “politicised” the play and granted its relevance in the modern day. Sophocles’ Antigone and the political tradition began by Hölderlin and Hegel appealed to modern audiences and led to the creation of the iconic adaptations (such as Anouilh’s and Brecht’s Antigones) that form our modern conceptualisation of Antigone – a play of political resistance and dissent. 6 Contents Signed declaration ................................................................................................. 3 Acknowledgments .................................................................................................. 4 Abstract ................................................................................................................... 5 Lay Summary of Thesis ........................................................................................ 6 List of Images ....................................................................................................... 11 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 13 1.1. Research Questions, Aims, and Context ......................................................... 13 1.2. Outline of the Work ......................................................................................... 18 1.3 Reception Theory ............................................................................................. 24 1.4. The Antigone of Sophocles .............................................................................. 30 1.4.1. Sophocles’ Antigone: A Drama of Political Rebellion Against Tyranny? 33 1.4.2. Human Order and Divine Law.................................................................. 38 1.4.3. Antigone’s Death: a kerdos? ..................................................................... 42 1.4.4. The Chorus ................................................................................................ 45 1.4.5. Conclusion ................................................................................................ 49 2. Antigone Before the Twentieth Century ............................................................ 51 2.1. Antigone’s Christianisation ............................................................................. 51 2.2. Hölderlin, Hegel, and Donner-Tieck-Mendelssohn ........................................ 55 2.2.1. Hölderlin’s Translation and Politicisation of Antigone (1797-1804) ....... 56 2.2.2. Hegel’s Philosophical Reading of Antigone as Paradigm of History (1807) ...........................................................................................................................