Journal 10: Antigone Exposition

List of Events:

1. Oedipus died
2. Eteocles took the throne and refused to give it up to Polynices
3. Polynices led a force against Thebes, civil war ensued
4. Polynices and Eteocles kill each other in battle
5. Creon takes the throne
6. Haemon, Creon's son, proposed to Antigone, who said yes
7. Creon declares that Eteocles will be buried nicely and Polynices will be left out to rot
8. Antigone dresses up in Ismene's clothes and goes to Haemon, and they fight
9. Antigone tells Ismene she is going to bury Polynices and asks for help
10. Ismene doesn't want to, so Antigone buries him alone

Most of these events that take place before the start of the play are announced by the Chorus. The events are described in an unbiased way, allowing the audience to interpret them (the war between Eteocles and Polynices, Creon's decree, etc.) however they want to. Instead of having Antigone, who is on Polynices' side, describe the events in her biased way or Creon, who sided with Eteocles– etc. That would present the plot in a one-sided way, which it is not. Anouilh was careful to do this because he wanted the play to be successful during the Nazi occupation of France, which meant his audience had two distinct audiences on both sides of the conflict. If he showed the events all from Antigone's side, then the French rebels would enjoy the show but not the Nazis. And if he showed it from Creon's side, then vice versa.
His unbiased presentation of the conflict also conforms to the rules of tragedy. Tragic conflicts are between two sides that are equally moral and right, so that in the end, it's tragic either way. So the exposition is set up so that both sides have equal footing and the plot is unbiasedly presented.