Freud and Antigone: a look at the id and superego

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This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.

When viewed through a Freudian lense, the characters of Sophocles’ Antigone resemble different components of the human mind. Antigone is representative of the id, whereas Ismene is representative of the superego. Throughout Antigone, Antigone lets her passions define her. She stands by her values even if it means risking death. These characteristics represent the unrelenting nature of the id. In contrast to this, Ismene is very repressed. Her submissive nature is characteristic of the superego. Antigone and Ismene show the problems of an unrestrained id and superego. As the play ends, Antigone’s unyielding desires causes her to suffer underground and Ismene’s constant repression causes her to be unsure of her own beliefs. This gallery helps to demonstrate these themes. The subjects of these paintings and their historical context are symbolic of the central messages of Freud and Antigone.

Olympia, Edouard Manet, 1863, From the collection of: Musée d’Orsay, Paris

Olympia is representative of the id, showing the drives and desires often associated with it (Gay xx).

Breton Women with Umbrellas, Emile Bernard, 1892, From the collection of: Musée d’Orsay, Paris

If Olympia is representative of the id, then the Breton women are representative of the superego, demonstrating repression (Gay xx).

Pietà, Rogier van der Weyden, after 1441, From the collection of: Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium

The passion that Mary shows towards Jesus is similar to the passion that Antigone shows towards her family (Sophocles 4-5).

Like Antigone, Socrates would rather die than betray his personal values (Sophocles 21).

Eve after the Original Sin, Eugène Delaplanche, 1869, From the collection of: Musée d’Orsay, Paris

The timid expression of Eve is characteristic of the repressed nature of Ismene (Sophocles 5).

The Judgement of Solomon, Peter Paul Rubens, About 1617, From the collection of: SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst

The way that the mother intervenes in Solomon's order is similar to the way that Ismene intervenes in Antigone's sentence (Sophocles 25-26).

The Fall of the Rebel Angels, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1562, From the collection of: Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium

An unrestrained id leads to chaos, constant desiring, and vengeance (Freud 175-176).

Ophelia, Sir John Everett Millais, Around 1851, From the collection of: Tate Britain

An overly restrained id is the result of too much repression and can drive one insane (Cunningham-Bryant, 2/21/14).

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This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.

Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium

SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst

Tate Britain

Musée d’Orsay, Paris