Antigone and her double, Lacan and Baudrillard

In Impossible Exchange (2001) Baudrillard questions the sovereignty of the thinking–willing subject and invites us to reconsider the subject–object economy with emphasis on the latter. He also develops the notion of the impossible exchange as an opportunity for the individual to see itself from the outside and consider the ontological question as one of presence and absence. This paper argues that Baudrillard’s notions converge with salient characteristics of the Lacanian drive. Bringing Baudrillard and Lacan together creates a unique point of view from which to consider questions of destiny, freedom and choice as well as their expression in contemporary culture. Two modern adaptation of Sophocles’ Antigone are used as examples.