What are the sentinel's feelings towards arresting Antigone?
Even though the sentinel might feel some sympathy for Antigone, he is bringing her to Creon for one reason, to save his own life. The sentinel will be held responsible by the King, so he is very eager to make sure that the King knows who buried Polyneices.
The sentinel wants to make sure that the King does not think that the guards were involved in the burial in any way because Creon has decreed that anyone who disobeys his orders will be executed.
"The sentry then proudly brings Antigone to Creon, glad to have cleared himself of any wrongdoing. He claims to be concerned solely with his own welfare, though expresses regret at having implicated such a young woman."
When the guard has to tell the King that he has discovered that Polyneices has been buried, he is terrified for his life.
"GUARD I wish to tell thee first about myself-I did not do the deed-I did
not see the doer-it were not right that I should come to any harm." (Sophocles)
When the sentinel brings Antigone to the King, and tells him the story of how they set a trap to capture the culprit, by removing the dirt from the body and waiting, hidden to see who would return, he is relieved that he will not be held responsible for disobeying the King's decree.
"To have escaped from ills one's self is a great joy; but 'tis painful to bring friends to ill. Howbeit, all such things are of less account to me than mine own safety." (Sophocles)Another important point that you should keep in mind about the guard's motivation is that he along with everyone else in Thebes is afriad of Creon, they do not respect him, they tell him what he wants to hear out of fear.
How does the sentinel feel about arresting Antigone?
The sentry seems to have mixed emotions in his scene with Creon as he turns Antigone over to him. He is clearly fearful of Creon's wrath. He hastens to tell the King that there is no doubt of Antigone's guilt, that she was caught in "the very act" of burying her brother's body. He stresses to Creon how efficiently he and the others had watched the body of Polyneices to catch whoever had buried it once before, just as Creon had instructed. As he describes what he had witnessed, the sentry says Antigone did not deny what she had been doing when she was apprehended:
She denied nothing.
And this was a comfort to me,
And some uneasiness: for it is a good thing
To escape from death, but it is no great pleasure
To bring death to a friend.
Yet I always say
There is nothing so comfortable as your own safe skin!
The sentry takes no joy in delivering Antigone to the King, but he is relieved to have saved himself from Creon's punishment had he failed to perform the King's order. The sentry's primary emotion, no doubt, is that he is now "off the hook." He says:
I am through with the whole thing now, and glad of it.
The sentry knows that dealing with Creon in his present state of ire is a dangerous activity.
Get Ahead with eNotes
Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.
Already a member? Log in here.