Repression is a theme present in both Freud and Sophocles' works. Freud sees repression as part of being human in that the thoughts and feelings we repress change our behaviors while Sophocles shows repression as impossible, for attempts at repression from Creon only force Antigone to act out. Freud's belief that repressed feelings lead to neuroses lines up perfectly within the play Antigone. She acts upon what Freud defines as the id, or unconscious, primal desires. Whether she lusts for her late brother is unclear, but from her desire to lay with him in his final place, Freud would say she is indeed holding back sexual desires. While the two men view repression differently, their effects are nearly identical, as is represented by the paintings in this gallery.
