How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
OEDIPUS. What do you say, child?
ANTIGONE. It is your child, my blood sister,
Whom I see! Right now you will know her by her voice!
ISMENE. Oh father and sister—two names
That are sweetest to me! (322-25)
Oedipus, Antigone, and Ismene have fallen far from the Theban palace where they used to live, and now they only have each other. Ismene isn’t exaggerating when she says that “father” and “sister” are the sweetest names to her; the family relationships are the only ones left in their tragic lives.
Quote #2
OEDIPUS. Child, have you come?
ISMENE. Oh father, ill-fated one, to see you!
OEDIPUS. Oh seed, of the same blood!
ISMENE. Wretched lives! (327-30)
Oedipus’ crime caused his children to be born to an unholy union, that of himself and his mother. So the family ties are also the proof and reminder of his tragedy; that’s why they call each other “ill-fated” and “wretched,” even though they are “of the same blood.” It’s the blood that’s causing the problem.
Quote #3
OEDIPUS. Touch me, child.
ISMENE. I touch you both together.
OEDIPUS. Her hand and mine?
ISMENE. And mine, an ill-fated one, is the third. (330-33)
When Ismene shows up, Oedipus can’t see her, so he wants her to touch him. This way he can feel her. This moment, where the sisters and father all hold hands, is powerful because the family has found its way back to each other even in the middle of all this pain and suffering. It’s a visual, physical representation of their bond.