Antigone

what are Antigone's first words, and what do these words suggest about her commitment to family

the commitments she made toward her family in her first words

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Antigone's first words are,

"Ismene, sister, mine own dear sister, knowest thou what ill there is, of all bequeathed by Oedipus, that Zeus fulfils not for us twain while we live? Nothing painful is there, nothing fraught with ruin, no shame, no dishonour, that I have not seen in thy woes and mine. "

Right away we know that Antigone has a fierce loyalty to family. She laments about what is happening to her family and one gets the sense that she will do anything to stand behind them,

"Dishonours which better fit our enemies

are now being piled up on the ones we love."

We only find out the details of her unburied brother later but early lines set us up for her fidelity to family.