Antigone’s Purpose

Ismene once argued with her sister, “If in defiance of the law we cross a monarch 's will?--weak women, think of that, not framed by nature to contend with men” (Sophocles 49-68). Ismene did not realize then that she was speaking with of one of the greatest heroines and monarchs of modern feminism in all of literature. If any woman today dared utter the words above, they would face immediate contention from the herd of strong-willed females belonging to the 21st century. In Antigone, we see Antigone press forward with conviction in pursuit of justice and truth. She is met with great opposition, largely due to her gender. In the past 2500 years, society has evolved in monumental ways.

In Antigone, King Creon’s pride prevents him from considering his citizens’ opinions, causing him to lose respect. Creon announces that Polyneices is a traitor, therefore he shall not be buried. Burial allows access to the after life. It is not in Creon’s power to make this decision, but he does anyway, forbidding Polyneices’s arrival to Hades. When the guards of Thebes, called Sentries, find Polyneices buried, Creon declares that whoever went against his law shall face a harsh execution. To Creon’s surprise, the culprit was Polyneices’s sister, Antigone, who happens to be Creon’s son, Haimon’s fiancé Even though Haimon loves Antigone and she was only trying to do the right thing by staying loyal to her family and the gods, Creon is too

Antigone believed that the actions she took were done for the right reason, because they adhere to the law of the Gods. In opposition to that, Creon believes that the actions he had taken were in fact the right ones, because he believed that Polyneices was a traitor to the land, and that anyone who should give him a proper burial would suffer the penalty of death. So, the actions that were taken by both of them individually were the right ones, in their own minds at least.<br><br>Antigone, in her plan to give her brother Polyneices a proper burial, kept in mind the consequences that she would suffer for having followed through with the plan. This doesn't necessarily mean that Antigone does not obey the human law that is set up by King Creon, it just means that this particular rule conflicted with the law of the Gods, something that Antigone believes highly in obeying, especially when it deals with her family. Antigone disregards the Olympian Justice that governs the land and also presides over the set laws that make civilized life attainable (Segal "Antigone" 172).<br><br>Antigone goes up against human law, by burying her brother Polyneices, knowing well that she will have to sacrifice her own life. She does this only because it is morally and ethically right, and this is why she stakes her life based upon her strong beliefs (Segal

Antigone retaliates by saying that his law is not that of the Gods so it does not stand. He wants to have Antigone killed, but his son his her fiancé. He tries to explain to the king that the gods would have wanted Polyneices to be buried and that Antigone did the right thing that she should not be punished for it. Creon’s hubris however comes out yet again. He will not even listen to a word his son has to say; however now he does not want to kill her, but to send her away into a tomb, where the Gods can determine her fate.

Haemon insists he is trying to prevent his father from pursuing an injustice while Creon accuses his son of siding with a reckless traitorous woman over his own father, to whom he owes obedience. In fact, Creon is more devoted to his laws than he is to even his own son Haemon’s happiness, refusing to pardon Antigone for burying Polynices even though she is Haemon’s fiancée. Antigone, on the other hand, places long held traditions and loyalty to her family above obedience to the city or to its ruler. In doing so, she makes the case that there are loyalties to both the gods and one’s own family that outweigh one’s loyalty to a

Antigone buries her brother Polynices’s corpse, against the decree of Creon, the ruler. She has several excuses she uses to justify her actions. First, she argues that Creon is unjust and she should not obey him. Second, she says that the gods are not defied by her actions, since she believes Creon is not accurately interpreting their wishes. Third, she believes that regardless of his political standing, her brother deserves a proper burial. Lastly, she says that she must try to bury Polynices, because it is in her nature to act according to love and not to bear grudges.

Like her father and uncle, her flaws are her stubbornness and pride. When Creon asks if she knew of the edict, Antigone states she was aware of it and argues she broke it because she didn’t believe a decree nor a human had the strength to “violate the lawful traditions the gods have not written merely, but made infallibly.” (Antigone, Lines 558-559). To Antigone, the burial of her brother is the most important thing to her, superseding compliance with any human law, including Creon’s. She stubbornly asserts that she is right to have broken the law of an unjust ruler, but it is this same stubbornness that prevents her from seeing more than just her side of the situation. Instead of possibly making a case with Creon to bury Polyneices, Antigone rashly takes matters into her own hands and does it herself, a clear error of judgement on her part. Later on, following a speech Creon gives her after her apprehension, Antigone states, “There is nothing you say that I would like to hear, and there never could be. And obviously there is nothing about me that could please you either. Still where was there a way for me to win greater glory than by taking my own brother to his grave?” (Antigone, Line 608-614). By stating that dying for burying her brother will bring her greater glory, Antigone displays immense pride in what she has

Creon’s pride, stuff, and stubborn shell leaves him very closed minded and vulnerable to bad situations. After Creon discovers that Antigone was the culprit behind the burial he sentences her to death. Antigone is the soon to be wife of Creon’s son Haemon. Haemon tries to convince his father that killing Antigone is not the right thing to do, but Creon refuses to listen. Creon does not budge with his decision, until Tiresias, a blind prophet tells Creon that he must not kill Antigone or he shall face the consequence of losing his own son for playing with the heavens.

Antigone demonstrates her familial loyalty when Creon puts out the law that only one of Antigone’s brothers should be buried and the other one is to be left to rot. She chose her allegiance to her brother and her family rather than loyality to King Creon. Antigone disobeys Creon's laws and buries Polynices not caring about what Creon said would happen to whoever do this. This action determines her destiny and leads her to be

In the play Creon rejects the burial of Polyneices but still seems to value family heavily. When Creon speaks with Haemon he expresses that he should listen to his father’s choice over anything else “Stand by your father’s ideas in all things.” (Page 37), showing that Creon values family honor. Sophocles shows moments of family love throughout the play, Creon knows letting Antigone go after burying her brother is the right thing to do so he makes the decision to let her go free for the action she performed “I myself, since my judgement has turned and seen better ways, I bound her up and I will go and release her.” (Page 54), this shows that Creon truly loves Antigone and chose family over authority by freeing her. As Haemon finds out Antigone has hanged herself, in

According to Aristotle, a tragedy is a form of drama that shows the downfall of a dignified, superior character who participates in events of great significance. In Antigone, Antigone can be classified as the tragic hero, or the main character in a tragedy of high rank who accepts his or her downfall with dignity. Her disobedience to Creon’s order is her biggest tragic flaw that causes her downfall. Ultimately, Antigone does not gain much knowledge from her downfall. Instead, she she is confident in her defiance up until her death.

Antigone feels that the law of the gods should be obeyed especially with family. In the conflict in this play, Creon orders that Polyneices will not be buried because of his betrayal towards Thebes and attacking the Thebes people. Thus, if anyone gets caught burying him, they will be killed for disobeying his orders. However, Antigone believes she has to show respect and love towards her brother and must give him a proper burial. This burial is not only for her brother, but also to honor her mother and father. She refused to back down even though Ismene has told her she would be

Antigone begins her conversation with Creon fighting for her brother’s rights but then it turns into something bigger and she begins to stand up for women in general. She believes she has a just cause and therefore has the right to fight for it. Although she is sentenced to a cave to die which leads to her committing suicide, Antigone feels that it is morally imperative that she voices her opposition to Creon’s ruling, placing herself above his decree. This all begins when Antigone and her sister Ismene discover that their brothers have killed each other fighting for the throne. Their uncle, Creon, the king, declares that only one brother, Eteocles, will be honored and have a proper burial while the other, Polyneices, will remain not buried.

“What right has he to keep me from my own (Sophocles p 142)?” Despite the ban from Creon, Antigone still wants to bury his brother Polynices on her own. She is not just doing this to perform her duties as a family member, but also to challenge the authority of male power of Creon. Antigone’s sister, on the other side, argues that “weak women, think of that, not framed by nature to contend with men (Sophocles p 143)”. As a typical woman at that time, Ismene is born to believe that females should always be obedient to males. Totally contrary to her sister’s belief, Antigone chooses to defy Creon and at the same time, encourages Ismene to stay against Creon with her too. Moreover, Antigone does not violate Creon’s order secretly. She is caught by the guard to the king and admits everything she did. “I did it, I deny it not (Sophocles p 154).” And more importantly, she did it not because she is rebellious, but because unlike other women who listen to whatever others say, Antigone has her own thoughts and reasons to be “bold enough to break the law (Sophocles p 154)”. Yet, regardless of how reasonable Antigone’s action is, going against patriarchal ruling is always a big mistake. Creon will

acted on her betray of the king. Creon threatens to kill Antigone in front of Haemon eyes, so he storms out with rage of the ignorance toward father. Then the blind prophet Tiresias arrives at Thebes again and tells Creon that the gods are not pleased with his actions and will bring a curse upon the city. When Creon has a change of heart and gives Polynices a proper burial and goes to free Antigone from the tomb, she was banished too. When Creon gets there he finds his son Haemon raving over Antigone hanging body from a noose. Before Creon could stop Haemon, He turned his sword to his father, but end up killing himself embracing his fiancé body. Creon, feeling inconsiderate and thoughtless about his actions carries his son’s body back