Creons Motivation In Antigone

Antigone is last book in a play trilogy by Sophocles about the tragic downfall of a family. The play focuses mainly on Antigone’s conflicting motivations developing Creon as the tragic hero in the play, causing him to be greedy and power crazed and unwilling to take others opinions. This leads to Creon’s tragic downfall and the death of Antigone and others important to Creon.

In the play Antigone’s motivations contrast Creon’s due to the difference in beliefs. Antigone’s motivations are that she believes both of her brothers deserve to buried and that the gods would agree with her and get to decide where his soul goes. Such as when she says “ That may be, but Hades still desires equal rights for both.” Trying to prove that the gods are on her side to Creon. Antigone finds Creon’s decree unfair and causes her to take matters into her own hands, against the

Creon’s strong feelings about Antigone burying of her brother transgressed him as the tragic hero because his stubbornness against her caused everyone to turn on him. Such as when Creon is talking to Antigone and he tells her “ In all of Thebes, you’re the only one who looks at things this way.” To which Antigone replies “They share my views, but they keep their mouths shut just for you.” This shows how Creon’s slowly being turned against because his stubbornness. Antigone admits to the burial of her brother and Creon orders her to a cave to survive as long as she can. When Creon’s son hears word of this he goes to talk to Creon and sees his stubbornness. Creon’s son Haemon kills himself when he finds Antigone dead, Creon's wife also kills herself once she hears of Haemon's death. Thus leading Creon to see the errors of his ways and leaving him in sadness over the death of his family, creating him the tragic