There are certain ones, however, which, because of their wide
acceptance, demand some attention at our hands. First, it is often
assumed that a tragedy should represent the good as ultimately
triumphing, despite suffering and failure. But how can the good triumph
when the hero fails and dies? Only, it is answered, if the hero
represents a cause which may win despite or even because of his
individual doom; and it is with this cause, not with him, that we
chiefly sympathize. This was Hegel's view, who demanded that the tragic
hero represent some universal interest which, when purged of the
one-sidedness and uncompromising insistence of the hero's championing,
may nevertheless endure and triumph in its genuine worth. In the
_Antigone_, Hegel's favorite example, the cause of family loyalty
finds recognition through the punishment of Creon for the girl's death;
while at the same time the principle of the sovereignty of the state
is upheld through her sacrifice. There are many tragedies which conform,
at least partially, to this scheme; but not all, hence it cannot be
a universal norm. In _Romeo and Juliet_, for example, although
the death of the young people serves to bring about a reconciliation
of their families, the real principle for which they suffered--the
right of private choice in matters of love--is in no way furthered by
the outcome of the play. And, although it is always possible to
universalize the good which is sought by any will, it is not possible
to deflect upon a principle the full intensity of our sympathy, away
from the individual, concrete passion and action.
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