Thoughts about Antigone

Immediately after finishing the piece of writing, I felt as though Antigone herself was the epitome of a tragic heroine. After all, her obvious blunder was to defy Creon’s decree that her brother should not be allowed a proper burial, and her lapse of judgment in burying him anyways brought about her ultimate downfall. However, as I sat down to write this blog I began to rethink my initial analysis. In a strange and twisted way, was not Antigone’s story that of victory? By committing the “crime,” she was taken away and locked in a vault where she ultimately killed herself, but more importantly, her actions indirectly led to the downfall of Creon’s entire life.

At first, Creon is hateful, proud, and emotionless. He mocks Antigone’s morals and he scoffs at her beliefs that God will punish Creon in the end. Despite his son Haimon’s love for Antigone, Creon becomes so caught up in his power that he sentences her to death for what he considers, “double insolence, breaking the given laws and boasting of it.” What Creon sees as boasting, Antigone believes to be justification. She sees nothing wrong with what she has done in attempting to properly bury her brother, as morally, it is the right thing to do. Whether or not Creon is thinking with his heart or his wounded ego is apparent when he disregards his son’s feelings in order to punish the girl who dared talk back to the king.

Creon believes that he will benefit from Antigone’s exile, but after an ominous prophecy from Teiresias warning him of the consequences to ensue his rash treatment of the girl, Creon begins to doubt his actions. Earlier, he had believed that what he wanted the most was her death; however, in retrospect, Creon is better able to realize that he had acted harshly and that he should try to undo the damage in order to prevent the prophecy from coming true. When he goes to free the prisoner-girl, he sees that she has already commit suicide. What he had once hoped for now causes his family’s demise. Haimon is so deeply hurt by the loss of the his one true love that he kills himself, and upon hearing about his suicide, his mother Eurydice becomes so struck with grief that she too kills herself. When Creon realizes what he has caused he finally admits his folly when he says, “I alone am guilty…I have been rash and foolish. I have killed my son and my wife...Fate has brought all my pride to a thought of dust.”

So, all in all, it seems that he who had commit the greatest blunder, which caused his ultimate downfall, was in fact Creon and not Antigone. In her death, she brought about the death of Creon’s reign, family, and life. Had he only been less obsessed with pride and his power, then perhaps he could have avoided the awful end to his world. This brings me to my final thought of the blog: Creon is the tragic hero in this piece of work as his inability to think with his heart causes the blood to spew from the heart’s of those that he cherished the most (536).

The Inevitable Heartbreak

I am now, and shan’t be ashamed to be,

But free from fret and care,

I wish to wander the seven seas,

And skip along the sunken sod with feet bare,

To touch the sky, to taste the sun,

I dream these wonders to be true,

Held away from the lucid light by none,

Restrained by no one, not even you---

You showed me stars,

From you I learnt love,

These moments forever ours,

I’ll remember you when I gaze above;

But I must leave you now,

You must let go, you must learn how.