How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #7
ISMENE. And the younger one, inferior in age,
Deprives the one born before, Polyneices, of the throne
And has driven him from the land of his fathers. (374-76)
Ismene’s younger brother has cut the line and stepped into the throne ahead of his older brother, who really should be the first to inherit the kingship. When he sends Polyneices into exile he is not only just separating him from the throne; he’s also separating him from his ancestral home.
Quote #8
OEDIPUS. Will they also cover me in burial with the dust of Thebes?
ISMENE. No, the blood of your kin does not allow you, oh father. (406-07)
Oedipus is concerned that if he is taken back to Thebes and buried there, that the burial won't be done properly. When Ismene says that “the blood of your kin” doesn’t allow him to be buried properly, she means that his family members won’t let him. He has been ultimately rejected by his sons and brother-in-law.
Quote #9
OEDIPUS. Did some one of my sons hear these things?
ISMENE. Both, equally, and they know it well.
OEDIPUS. And once they heard these things, did they—the most evil of men!
--Place the tyranny before longing for me?
ISMENE. It pains me to hear these things, but nevertheless I must bear them. (416-20)
Oedipus hopes that his sons still care about him, but they care more about power than family. The division of the family goes along gender lines, maybe because the girls aren’t able to take the throne so its power doesn’t distract them from their family duty? Or maybe they’re just better people than their brothers.