Antigone Ismene and HaimonAntigone, the character, is a tragic hero because we care about her. Ismene and Haimon help us take care of Antigone by making her feel worthy of love. And without this her plan to bury her brother seems irrelevant to the reader because we can't care about her. Ismene, although weak and timid, is in the story to illustrate that Antigone is capable of being loved. “We are only women, we cannot fight with men, Antigone” (Sophocles 881). Another reason why Ismene is incorporated into Antigone is to demonstrate exactly that Antigone is strong-willed. Haimon is there to show that Antigone has a life and a future outside of her purpose. What Haimon brings to the story is that he makes Creon look like a fool, but more importantly, he validates Antigone's cause. So without Antigone having to live she would have nothing to lose, so her death wouldn't be tragic. The prologue juxtaposes the character differences between Antigone and Ismene. Ismene works on what makes sense, while Antigone uses more emotion. "Antigone: He is my brother. And he is your brother too. (There is talk of burying Polyneices.) Ismene: But think of the danger! Think what Creon will do" (Sophocles 881). In this part of the play we really see how strong Antigone is by witnessing how weak Ismene is. "Another example of this is when Antigone speaks to Ismene that she will bury Polyneices no matter what. Ismene replies that you cannot. Antigone then says well, I will do it until my strength fails" (Sophocles 882). Not only is Ismene weak but she is also a law-abiding citizen. In the second scene Ismene shows the viewer that she is still weak, but also that Antigone is a heroine because heroes must be loved. And this is where we find that at least one person does. “But how could I go on living without her” (Sophocles 892)? Here the viewer also discovers that Ismene has good intentions towards her sister, it is just difficult for her to show them to her. Likewise at the beginning of scene three Haimon will do nothing to hurt his father Creon. "I am your son, father. You are my guide. You clarify things for me and I obey you" (Sophocles 893). This changes rapidly, however. Haimon is now fed up with all the negative chatter about Antigone and in a way he also speaks for the people.