Antigone is the story of a strong-willed girl, determined to do moral good and preserve respect for her late brother. After the death of Antigone’s father Oedipus, her two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices were assigned to take over the throne. The position was supposed to be shared between the brothers, until they killed each other in battle after the decision of Eteocles to remain in higher power and reject the idea of stepping down from the throne.
After the death of Oedipus’ sons, Creon, Antigone’s uncle, was appointed King. The authoritative King permitted the burial of Eteocles, but not that of Polynices. Ismene, Antigone’s sister confesses to her the intentions of Creon to not permit the burial of Polynices, and Antigone is not at ease with the news. Antigone is determined to give Polynices a proper burial, and she informs her sister of her intentions. Ismene is in disbelief that Antigone will go as far as to defy the King’s authority, but her primary duty is to her family. When Creon discovers that the body of Polynices has been buried, he is astonished to find that Antigone, basically one of his own, had committed the act. Antigone’s marriage to Haemon was far more important than her death. Creon ordered her to her bedroom, and for the act to be covered up.
After Antigone makes matters more difficult, Creon sentences her to death, by which she will rot in a cave, buried alive. Haemon, pleads to his father for him to alter the sentencing of his soon-to-be fiancé, but his actions are useless until Creon is warned about his decisions and is obliged to go release Antigone in fear of what we know today as “karma.” The king arrives to release Antigone, but finds his son Haemon, clinging to her lifeless body. In anger, Haemon lashes at his father, but turns the sword on himself. Creon, standing before his deceased son and niece, although never directly assisting in either of their deaths, should for fully responsible for both. Eurydice, Creon’s wife, upon hearing of her son’s death, also kills herself, leaving Creon to mourn the death of his family.
Although Creon feels some remorse for these multiple deaths, all could have been prevented. The cascade of deaths from Antigone to Eurydice exemplified acts of true love and passion. Creon’s main focus was to maintain his position of power and loyalty to the law, and in the end, that is what he maintained. He had lost everyone in his life that had brought him happiness or benefit. As mentioned previously, the idea of karma in today’s society is related to the events in Antigone, and I believe that Creon got what he deserved. In debating the actions of Creon and Antigone throughout the play, many ethical and political issues arise regarding the proper burial of a family member and the obedience to law.
2 comments:
I agree with your take on Creon's character. Creon expects everybody to respect and obey his orders without question. His decision to deter his niece from burying her brother is an indication of a dictatorial rule. This is the essence of the fierce disobedience battle between the two. In this situation, Sophocles shows that people are most likely to reject anything that infringes on their rights especially those with a spiritual attachment. This implies that Antigone’s spirited disobedience could be emanating from the fact that Polyneices was her blood brother.
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