Antigone by María Zambrano: fearlessness, subversion, and poetic creation

Here we present the translation of the “Prologue” from María Zambrano’s work titled “La tumba de Antígona.” In the text, originally published in 1967, Zambrano redefines the myth of Antigone, giving the character a different destiny than the one presented by Sophocles in the classical version of the myth. According to Zambrano, after being entombed alive, the protagonist does not kill herself but undergoes a kind of anagnorisis, a self-recognition, which occurs as she engages in dialogue with the other characters in the story. Through deep reflections and some dialogues, Antigone starts contemplating her own condition and the way she has sacrificed herself throughout her journey to support and defend the lives and ideals of others, such as her father, the city, her brothers, her fiancé, and the king. Antigone finally manages to find time for herself, and it is in this possibility that she achieves what Zambrano calls poetic transcendence. The translated text here is the “Prologue” of Zambrano’s work, which announces an Antigone who turns what would have been her moment of decline, being buried alive, into a time of affirmation and self-recreation.

Keywords:
María Zambrano; Antigone; anagnorisis; poetic transcendence