Antigone’s story revolves around the struggle of a woman battling her city leader on war practices. It has several important themes which are mainly brought out by the protagonist, who is a strong-willed woman living in a cruel world. She was caught between her loyalty to the gods and their laws versus the city’s. The protagonist stands firm by her individual values. In addition, she was a woman with determination, thus the very essence of this story.
Creon was also one of the main characters; he is the new ruler of Thebes and has his own idea of justice as he does not listen to the people and rejects even his own son’s plea to save Antigone’s life. As human beings, we tend to believe that our own opinions are the right ones, and perceive everyone else with a different opinion to as wrong. Creon’s decisions were made since he was the king and, therefore, had to prove to his people that traitors would not be honored even after their death.
On the other hand, Antigone looked at things in a totally different perspective from Creon; she believed it was her duty as a woman to bury the body of a family member and proceeded to do so because she believes that the natural laws are above the City laws. This can be affirmed in the following statements:
“ANTIGONE: I urge no more; nay, wert thou willing still, I would not welcome such a fellowship. Go thine own way; myself will bury him. How sweet to die in such employ, to rest, sister and brother linked in love’s embrace. A sinless sinner, banned awhile on earth, but by the dead commended; and with them l shall abide forever. As for thee, Scorn, if thou wilt, the eternal laws of heaven. ISMENE: I scorn them not, but to defy the state or break her ordinance I have no skill….”(Mistriōtēs 24)
The statements in the previous paragraphs clearly bring out the conflict between individualism and the power of state. Ismene did not help Antigone bury their brother because she did not want to go against the state laws. However, Antigone invokes the divine and moral law to defend her actions when she refers to her brother as a ‘sinless sinner’. This indicates that Antigone’s values emerge from her eccentricity, whereas Creon’s values are as a result of the state.
Though Creon’s actions were wrong, it did not necessarily mean that Antigone was flawless. Although she showed neither fear nor hesitation in her actions, she should have had at least tried and asked for help. This would have prevented her from causing so much trouble and probably, she could have avoided the risk of getting herself or her younger sister killed. Antigone’s strength was remarkable, but selfish. In taking her own life, she knew her sister would have no one to protect her anymore against the tyrant leader (they had already also lost their two brothers Eteodes and Polynices).
Pride made Creon a tyrant, but made Antigone a hero as she sacrificed her life out of devotion to her principles. Creon’s behavior depicts that there is a fine line between being a strong leader and a brutal tyrant.
This story, therefore, teaches that sometimes we will have to break rules to do what is right; just as Antigone opted to bury his brother against Creon’s wish. Moreover, there is a price to pay for all of our wrong actions. For instance, when Creon refused to listen to the gods, he was punished through the death of his wife and son.
Works Cited
Mistriōtēs, Geōrgios. The Antigone. New York: CUP Archive, 2009. Print.