Detouring school to family: A reading of Antigone

Abstract

Sophocles’ Antigone is a play that has been analyzed by many researchers in different fields, but the subject of Antigone’s parenting has been neglected in the field of education. Antigone’s parenting determines her action of burying her brother, for which she pays a high price because she has defied the polis rules. The will of the polis can be viewed as reflected in schools in modern society. Inspired by the thoughts of Hegel, Lacan, and Paul Ricœur, this study proposes that for children, the school is a detour to family that continually prompts them to rethink their family, thus helping them obtain self-comprehension.