Critical Lens Essay On The Relationship Between Creon And Antigone

Would you deem it fair if one brother receives a proper burial and the other one does not? Antigone was faced with this question, when she is had to face Creon’s decision of how her two brother’s deaths will be honored. Antigone had decided to break the law that Creon had set up, in order to give her fallen brother the proper burial that she felt he deserved. She had chosen to follow her moral conscience rather than listen to the creed that had been decided. While Antigone had chosen loyalty to her family and old traditions about burial, her uncle Creon had chosen power over family, deeming that love only makes you weak. Both Creon and Antigone both had views that they believed were right and they both defended their decisions until the end.

/Must I rule the land by someone else’s judgment rather than my own? (Antigone, 790 & 792) This bold statement made by Creon suggests that he sees himself as a leader with the power and dignity of the state entirely with himself. With that power Creon also comes off as prideful as he states “I swear I am no man and she the man/ if she can win this and not pay for it. (Antigone, 528-529), this quote is evidence that Creon decision to stick to punishing Antigone is based off of his pride as a male as he deems that he won’t lose to a woman, as well as his belief that he has absolute say as the king. Even Creon own son agrees that Creon’s values are solely based on power an pride as Haemon challenges him, suggesting that by serving himself and instituting a totalitarian rule of state he is neglecting to positively serve the people of Thebes, this is evidenced when Haemon declares “ There is no city possessed by one man.”(Antigone, 794) Creon’s devotion to following state laws is proof that he doesn’t believe in the moral ethics of others and that he demands that others follow his demonstration. Jebb supports this claim as he states, “Creon is responsible for teaching that morality must surrender to a nation’s order. (Antigone to Sophocles, 1599). Simone De Beauvoir also announces that “Creon is dead set upon setting up a particular regulation that he has envisioned for the state and thus is uninterested in the ethical standards of others, unless it is set within his guidelines that he has decreed.” (“Moral” 178) Author Greydark also addresses the issue of Creon’s pride as he states “Creon remains fixated on retaining his stance largely because to renounce them would be equivalent to admitting a mistake to the public, which may in turn undermine his authority and jeopardize his credibility with his people.”( Analysis of…”