Haimon has a certain tendency to be overlooked in Sophocles’ Antigone. At first he appears to be a minor character, an accessory to the overt conflict occurring between Kreon and Antigone. We see Haimon supporting his father, but soon thereafter in conflict with him. Haimon expresses disregard for the life of his cold bride to be, yet is defined as being driven by lust. Several questions come up: who does Haimon really support, what drives his actions, and what is his ultimate intent? Unraveling these issues is a tricky task, but what we find is Haimon is far more than an accessory.
Haimon is introduced in third-person, making his character easily overlooked and marginalized
…show more content…
Soon thereafter the pace of conversation heats up; attacks are short, blatant, and poignant. Haimon clears the air, saying “in justice I san see that you are wrong” (743). The most revealing statement is “[Kreon] There is no way that you will marry her alive! [Haimon] Then she will die, in death destroying someone else!” (750). The third choral ode follows implying that Eros, the god of passionate desire, rules Haimon. This is commonly interpreted as passion for Antigone, but that makes little sense. Until this point, no affection has been expressed between Haimon and Antigone, just as this does not appear to be affection. Before being led to her death, Antigone says “No wedding hymn is my lot; no marriage song sung for me” (814). Its important to realize that Antigone doesn’t express regret that she will not be married to Haimon, or the breaking of their betrothal, just that she will never be married in general. As Kreon stated and Haimon probably also knew, “there are other plots of land for [Haimon] to plow” (569). Antigone doesn’t express loss specific to Haimon, and Haimon likely recognizes Antigone as a commodity. Given this information, is it a sound conclusion that Haimon’s passion is for Antigone, or that something else drives him?
The chorus is right, Eros drives Haimon, but where is that
If we assume that Antigone’s action is absolutely just, her strategy to execute justice still lacks insight. She isolates herself by rejecting Ismene’s companionship. Nor does she mention her fiancé Haemon in the play. Her
The first specification for the tragic hero is one of the few that both Antigone and Creon exhibit; both characters are between the extremes of perfect morality and pure villainy. Antigone’s moral neutrality is illustrated through her noble intentions and the unorthodox way she acts upon them. When she is confronted by Creon and demanded to give an explanation for her disobedience, Antigone says, “For me it was not Zeus who made that order. Nor did that Justice who lives with the gods below mark out such laws to hold among mankind” (Sophocles 207 ll. 450-2). Along with love and loyalty to her brother, Antigone is largely motivated by her desire for justice and appeasement of the gods. While her intentions are noble, Antigone’s actions in the
Full of drama and tragedy, Antigone can be used to relate to current conflicts. One such conflict is that between Haemon and his father Creon. Haemon looks up to Creon with honor and pride, but as conflict arises, that relation is disassociated and new feelings grow. The first conversation between them is what initiates the downfall of their bond. While it seems that Creon is the most important person in Haemon’s life, Antigone is in fact the one that has won Haemon over.
Haemon shows his love to Antigone by revolting his father 's authority and committing suicide. Haemon is the son of Creon and Eurydice and is engaged to Antigone. He always respects and obeys Creon, taking Creon for a model. However, the decree of killing Antigone causes his violent controversy with his father because he is afraid of losing his fiancé—Antigone. Haemon defends the moral behavior of Antigone and reasons with Creon to change
In the play Antigone, it becomes clear that Antigone is a passionate woman who is willing to go to extreme lengths for her beliefs. The passage that most stood out to me was “It is noble for me to die doing this. I will lie there with him, loved by the one I love, guilty of the crime of holy reverence” (Lines 63-65). At this point, Antigone is proclaiming her undying love for her brother Polyneices, and her willingness to give him a proper burial at the expense of her life. This passage stood out to me because it shows passion. Passion is defined as an intense desire or enthusiasm to do something. In society today it is hard to find people who are passionate about something. It is even more rare to find someone who is passionate enough
Antigone’s motivation is love for her family- she puts it above all else. In fact, she is willing to sacrifice her life to defend that love. Antigone goes to great lengths to bury her deceased brother, who according to an edict issued by King Creon, died in dishonor, consequently making it illegal for anyone to bury his body. Through her actions to comply with her motivations, it is revealed that Antigone’s actions are also fueled by her strong beliefs that, first, the gods’ laws
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
""¦to waste away in barrenness, unmarried". Sophocles followed through with the curse in "Antigone". We see that Oedipus ' line ends in this piece. Ismene, the youngest daughter, is so traumatized by the events in "Oedipus Rex" that she becomes a priestess and therefore will never have children. The two sons, Polyneices and Eteocles, wind up dying at the hands of one another in a great civil war. As for Antigone, her death is the worst of all. Although in "Antigone", Sophocles establishes a relationship between Haimon and Antigone, Antigone pays the ultimate price for trying to bury her brother. One cannot ignore that fact that Creon was Oedipus ' uncle/brother. Therefore it is safe to assume that with the death of Haimon, there is no hope for even the slightest bit of Oedipus ' blood to be passed on. And thus, the cycle of sins of the father is complete.
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.
CREON. Another? Have you lost your senses? Is this an open threat?” (3.118-121)The gods must have robbed him of his common sense, because Haimon was trying to tell his father that he would commit suicide if he killed Antigone. Creon would not listen. He put his family on the backburner and forever burdened one of his dead nephews and Antigone, all because of his pride and his greed for power. That pride and hotheadedness turned into a big problem, as he would have preferred to, “End his life and die than live with the agony of his mistakes” (Exodos134-138). In Creon case his fate was caused again and again crossing the line between laws set by the gods and the laws set by man.
This story is marked by tragedy after tragedy; Antigone and Ismene are presented with a father, that dare to killed his father to married his own mother. Two brother that followed the similar example, and consequently killed each other to for throne to have power. We don’t know what age they were when her parents died, but by inference we can argue that they were young. Although, Antigone and Ismene experience some life-hard moments together, their view on certain situation are shaped differently throughout the play. Antigone, see the situation with her brother Polynieces as outrageous offense to her and her family values, especially after being an active member of leadership in the city of Thebes. Antigone, experiences had made her a stronger than other women, she doesn’t fear man, and is
Sophocles’ play, Antigone, presents conflicts such as Antigone vs. Creon and Antigone vs. Ismene. However, there is an overlooked conflict between Creon and his son, Haemon. This father-son conflict stems from the view that a son should be submissive to his father. However, Haemon does not abide his role of being submissive to his father and tries to entangle himself with his father role, which indirectly results in his death. As well through analysis of Creon’s and Haemon’s relationship gives an insight to their fates; and furthermore, sheds light on the underlying issue between democracy and dictatorship in the Greek society.
Love can be expressed in many different ways. In Antigone, familial love is central in Antigone’s life because she loves her brother Polyneices even though he was a traitor. In her speech to her sister about Creon forbidding Polyneices’ burial, Antigone makes it clear that familial love cannot be tainted.
Choking, his blood bright red on her white cheek” (Sophocles 973). With the strength that he had left he held Antigone close to him because he loved her. The audience was expecting for Haimon to kill his father but instead he pulled out his sword and kill himself to be closer to antigone. Nemesis and peripeteia are not the only things that are being used in the story, Another one is catharsis being used with mood.
At the end, she is faced with a load of regret because she realizes her actions has caused her the future. She then comes to the conclusion that she will not be able to experience most of the things the other women in the play have or will experience. She thinks about marriage, children, and love before she dies. Antigone proclaims, “… unmarried. I’ve had no man, no wedding celebration, / shared nothing with a husband, never raised a child. / My friends and family have abandon me in misery …” (lines 917- 19). In this part of the play, Antigone shows that she can be vulnerable and weak like traditional women, Ismene and Eurydice. It also displays that she wants the things any woman would want in life; she wants to feel the love of a man and she wants