Antigone: A Martyr Who Dies For The Wrong Reasons

“No woman shall seduce us. If we must lose, Let's lose to a man, at least. Is a woman stronger than we?” (Sophocles.II.3.539-540) says Creon, King of Thebes and uncle to the disobeying but brave Antigone in Antigone by Sophocles. A patriarchal society is a community in which male domination over women, Sophocles explains the journey of Antigone in getting her brother buried and yielding against the laws of Thebes in a man dominated city. Antigone portrayed in the play is loyal and stubborn, she would do anything that feels ethical and honest to her even if that disregarding the laws created by men. She responds to the standards of King Creon by going against her own blood, not believing that women should subjected to the rule that they

Antigone, however, decides she would rather please the gods than man and buries her brother against King Creon’s orders. She is fully aware of the consequences should she get caught, yet she openly disobeys, even against her sister’s warnings. She gives Creon no additional respect either as a male in a patriarchal society or as a king and ultimate authority figure. In fact, she calls him a fool! Antigone boldly states to Creon himself, “If my present actions strike you as foolish, let’s just say I’ve been accused of folly by a fool,” (Sophocles p.657). The strong will and defiance she exhibits are very characteristic of modern feminism.

The famous playwright not only introduces characters who promote feminism, but he also punishes those who believe women are inferior. Creon believes that women should obey men’s orders and is eventually punished for misogyny. “[Creon] wish(es) [that he] weren’t alive” (65) as a result of having a misogynistic attitude. He is soon punished as he realizes that the death of his son Haemon and his wife Eurydice were all caused due to his misogynistic attitude and stubbornness towards the decisions he later regrets. Furthermore, Creon is punished due to the fact that his set laws prohibited women to freely express their opinion and such resulted in him being the main victim of several deaths. Creon “invite(s) death” (65) and causes the citizens of Thebes to revolt against his foolish decisions resulting in his reputation as a king to diminish. Likewise,

Antigone is an honorable character in this story of love and rebellion. The only thing that she does is disobey an order that is unjust and bury the remains of her

Her blatant disrespect and sarcasm toward Creon shows how she really feels toward him. Antigone does not respect Creon as the king of Thebes. This gets further proved when Antigone says, “It wasn’t Zeus, not in the least, who made this proclamation–not to me” (Sophocles Antigone, 499-500). This is a very telling moment for the reader, Antigone is saying she did not listen to Creon’s decree not only because she does not respect him, but also she will only listen to the gods rules. This moment tells Creon that Antigone will never respect him as a ruler. Antigone is very stubborn, and when she is very passionate she will speak her mind, “And if my present actions strike you as foolish, let's just say I’ve been accused of folly by a fool” (Sophocles Antigone, 523-5). In these few lines she is talking to Creon about how she does not regret burying her brother. She tells Creon, the person who holds her fate in his hands, that he is a fool. Antigone’s hubris finally comes back to ruin her, “We took his orders, went and searched, and there in the deepest, dark recesses of the tomb we found her… hanged by the neck in a fine linen noose” (Sophocles Antigone, 1344-7). The ‘her’ the messenger is speaking of is Antigone. Antigone is so prideful and spiteful her last act on Earth was a smug reminder to Creon that if she was going to die it would be on her own terms, by her own hand. Antigone is one character that perfectly showcases how hubris can lead to ultimate demise.

Even though Antigone exhibits a blamable pride and a hunger for glory, her disobedience is less serious than those of Creon. It is evident that Antigone’s actions are driven by a love for her brother, and a desire to please the gods. While Creon’s actions are

Antigone 's tragic flaw does not lead to her downfall, because of this Antigone does not meet the characteristic of reversal in fate otherwise known as a downfall. Creon’s pride is what causes Antigone 's death. For example when Teiresias tells Creon to let Antigone go and to give Polyneices a proper burial because the gods are upset he does not listen. Instead he says to Teiresias, "doddering fortune tellers...if your birds-if the great eagles of God himself- should carry him bit by bit to heaven, I would not yield"( 44- 47). Creon is insulting Teiresias, a respected prophet, and says that he wouldn 't do as Teiresias says even if the birds carried Polyneices body bit by bit to heaven. It is obvious that Creon is prideful because he has a high opinion of his superiority. This is shown when he refers to Teiresias, a highly respected prophet who has never been wrong, as

Out of imprudence, Antigone does not realize the negative effects of antagonizing Creon. After being captured by the guard and brought to Creon, she reveals her intentions to Creon and even belittles him by indicating that his orders is not so strong that he, “a mortal man”,

The only person in the city who is ready to defy Creon’s law is his niece, the sister to Polynices, Antigone. She is overcome with grief by Creon’s order, and sets out to bury her brother. She believed that Creon, “a mere mortal,” did not have the power to “…override the gods, the great unwritten, unshakable traditions…” surrounding the rights of a dead man (Line 503-505). Her loyalty was to her family, not to the new king of Thebes. When Antigone goes to her sister Ismene to plead for her help in burying their brother, even she is too afraid of Creon’s authority to assist her only family. “I must obey the one’s in power,” she says. “...defy the city? I have no strength for that.” (Line 79-80, 93). She is lead to go against what she feels is morally right because she is fearful of the consequences. Even though Antigone is aware of these deadly consequences, she is willing to face them and stand up for what she believes is right. Discovering that Antigone has gone against him, Creon immediately sentences

When a messenger comes to Creon, bringing the news that Antigone has buried her brother, he begins his arguments why Antigone has broken the law. He begins by stating that a man shows what he is made of by his "skill in rule and law." In other words, the law is everything and as a ruler, he must do everything for his country. He considers Polyneices an enemy of the city and a threat to the security of the city as well. Thus Polyneices will be called a traitor in life and in death and dishonored. The scene when Antigone and Creon face each other is the opportunity for both to defend themselves. Creon questions Antigone. She bases her responses on that the city laws proclaiming her as illegal are not the laws of Zeus or laws proclaimed by gods, but rather, laws made by a man that one day will also die. She will honor her brother's death because this is what the gods have proclaimed for all mankind. (lines 460-463)

Like Creon, Antigone also never falters in standing up for what she believes in. Although Creon fights for stubborn pride, Antigone is trying to promote what is right and shows her higher reverence for God’s law rather than for Creon’s laws. In the eyes of the townspeople, Chorus, Choragos, and Haimon, Antigone is sacrificing herself to give her brother Polyneices the rightful honors due to the dead. Many side with this brave, honorable girl because she would rather suffer persecution and even death rather than give into Creon’s illogical demands. In the play, the chorus says about her, “You have made your choice, Your death is the doing of your conscious hand”. Antigone knew of the consequences before she acted and in doing so she chose her fate. At the time, she pleaded her sister Ismene to help her bury Polyneices but was rejected. Despite being alone in trying to rebel and perhaps she may have been afraid, Antigone goes out of her way and puts her life on the line to bring her brother respect.

In contrast to Creon’s opinion that ultimate authority rests with the king, Antigone believes that everyone, even the king, should follow the gods’ laws first. She does not want to betray her brother or “be a traitor…to the gods” by not burying him (line 48). She follows up with this assertion saying, “He [Creon] has no right to keep me from my own” (line 50). These statements demonstrate that her priorities lie first with the gods and second with her family, both of which she places above the authority of the king.

Throughout the play, Antigone is presented as an audacious and unorthodox female character, whose actions

In the play, Haemon is brought to his father to be informed off the news of his soon to be wife. In the discussion between Creon and Haemon, they speak of Haemon's obedience and Antigone's disobedience to Creon. Creon says, "So I must guard the men who yield to order, not let myself be beaten by a woman. Better, if it must happen that a man should overset me. I won't be called weaker than womankind" (Sophocles 211). Creon makes it clear that his reasoning relies on sexism and not what is truly just. Women are often downgraded to the status of a secondary role as shown in the story.

obligated to do. She not only prefers this but her bravery, obstinacy and other traits destroy the